


Two Weeks Notice

by ras_elased



Category: Merlin (BBC)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-14
Updated: 2009-03-14
Packaged: 2017-10-11 13:38:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/112981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ras_elased/pseuds/ras_elased





	1. Chapter 1

  
  
  
  
  


**Entry tags:**

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[fandom: merlin](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fandom%3A%20merlin), [fic: two weeks notice](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fic%3A%20two%20weeks%20notice), [genre: angst](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20angst), [genre: au](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20au), [genre: drama](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20drama), [genre: fluff](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20fluff), [genre: humor](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20humor), [genre: prompt/challenge response](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20prompt%2Fchallenge%20response), [genre: romance](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20romance), [pairing: merlin/arthur](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/pairing%3A%20merlin%2Farthur), [rating: nc-17](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/rating%3A%20nc-17)  
  
  
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Merlin makes a damn good cup of coffee.

Of course, he likes to think he has other talents, too. It only takes him five seconds to find virtually any file in the disaster area otherwise known as his cubicle at the volunteer center. He has been known to design sugar-packet towers of truly dizzying heights when bored. And he can tie a cherry stem into a double knot with his tongue. (He greatly enjoyed showing off the last one at parties, until Gwen gently informed him it was tantamount to offering blowjobs to complete strangers, and then he couldn't ever do it again in public without suffering a horrible, full-body blush from his feet to his ears. At least, not while _sober._) It is, however, his talent at making the perfect cup of coffee that makes him the most proud. Especially because he gets paid for it.

"Single grande half-caf non-fat white mocha!" Merlin called out the order and snapped a lid over the steaming cup. He set it on the counter in front of the half-awake girl wearing a University of London sweater, then moved on to the bleary-eyed businessman. The Smithy (presumably named after the absentee owner, some over-excitable, flighty bloke named John Smith) walked the fine line between over-commercialized chain cafes and scary indie coffee houses that blasted Enya all day and were populated by nothing but hippie lesbians. As such, they had a relatively even mix of clientele, which made for a rather smooth (if slightly boring) workday. Merlin, however, simply liked the fact that they sold only organically grown coffee, and he got to drink it for free.

Merlin handed the tall plain latte to the grateful businessman and wiped his hands on his electric-blue apron. (Really, he suspected the color did more to shock the customers awake than their morning caffeine jolt.) He glanced at the steadily growing line of morning pre-caffeinated zombies, then at the clock above the espresso machine. "Shit!" he cursed, frantically pulling at the knot of his apron. It was stubbornly uncooperative, so Merlin opted to attempt removal over his head. It got caught first on his nametag, which was already tangled with the scarf around his neck, and then on one ear, but that was pretty much inevitable and par for the course. "Gwen! I'm really sorry, but I've got to go!" he called, trying to extricate his gangly limbs from their fight to the death with the blasted apron.

"Already?" Gwen called from the stock room, sounding rather harried. He guessed she still hadn't finished morning inventory. They were short staffed, and Merlin had come in early to help her out, but if he didn't leave right now, he'd be late.

"Yeah, sorry," he called again, but his voice was muffled by the tangle of blue material around his head. He finally managed to wiggle free only to find Gwen standing in front of him, her amused expression telling him that in its battle with the apron, his hair had likely lost spectacularly. He didn't care about that, however, because in each hand Gwen was holding 20 ounces of steamy, frothy goodness.

"I figured you and Lance could use a little pick-me-up before the protest," she smiled.

"Gwen, I could kiss you," he gushed, accepting her offering with the reverence it deserved.

She laughed. "Take my late shift next week, and we'll call it even. And remind that boyfriend of mine that our anniversary is tomorrow. Knowing Lance, he's probably forgotten and has plans that night to launch a personal crusade to save the spotted dolphins, or something."

"Done and done," Merlin replied cheerfully, making his way to the door. He managed five steps before Gwen's voice called out again, and when he turned she was waving a stack of bright orange pamphlets at him and shaking her head in exasperation. He grinned as she tucked them under his left elbow. "Gwen, you're a queen," he said brightly.

"Funny, I thought that was _you_," Gwen answered with a teasing twist of her mouth. "Now get moving! You're late as it is."

"Right. See you tonight!" He called over his shoulder, and then heroically prevented dropping everything in a colossal mess as he practically fell out the door in his haste.

Working at The Smithy may have paid Merlin's bills, but it wasn't Merlin's passion. That particular honour was reserved for Merlin's time spent volunteering for the United Kingdom Organization for the Restoration of Nature. The organization suffered the unfortunate and acronymicly-challenged nickname of UniKORN, but Merlin rather liked it, as evidenced by the fact that he had chosen to wear his favorite t-shirt to the rally. It was navy blue with the organization's stylized unicorn logo on the chest. The early autumn chill really necessitated that he wear something a bit more substantial, but Merlin was proud of his shirt. He'd won it for having the most signatures on the "Save the Water Vole" petition. Lance had one, too, and Merlin sometimes wondered how someone as glaringly hetero as Lancelot could wear the shirt without even a hint of irony. Merlin suspected it might have something to do with the way Lance regarded it more as a coat of arms, having practically taken an oath of fealty to uphold the code of UniKORN. Namely: to stop big companies like the Pendragon Corporation from stamping out all the wildlife in Britain.

As soon as the organization had learned that the Pendragon Corporation had plans to buy up a major plot of crucial, undeveloped natural land and was planning on turning it into a bloody _shopping centre_, of all things, the organization had done all they could to fight the sale. Lancelot had fought with his customary zeal for justice and Merlin had worked his magic behind the scenes (that is to say, fetching and filing and manning the phones, but he liked to think he was crucial to the operation), but still the sale had gone through. Today was the day the sale became final, thus the very public protest being held this morning in front of the Pendragon building.

Merlin readjusted the fliers under his arm, careful not to spill the piping hot coffees, and looked up to see the crosswalk light had changed. He stepped off the curb and caught sight of Lance rallying the crowd, waving over everyone's heads as he caught sight of Merlin. Merlin grinned back, eyes on Lance and, in typical Merlin fashion, forgetting to watch where he was going.

And that's when it all went to hell.

_   
**Two Weeks Notice (1/5)**   
_

* * *

Arthur stepped through the sleek glass door and into the gray London sunshine. Of course, with the day Arthur was having, it figured that the moment he stepped out of the office, his mobile rang. (Excalibur model, very pricey, and not even released to the public yet.) Just when Arthur thought his day couldn't get any worse, he looked at the caller ID and realized he was wrong.

Arthur contemplated not answering, but she'd know. His demonic witch of a step-sister seemed to know _everything_. It was damned creepy. He pressed the green talk button and before he even had a chance to utter his typical sarcastic greeting, Morgana's voice demanded clearly through the line, "Arthur, where do you think you're going?"

Arthur craned his neck and glared up towards the distant top floors of the high rise, where all of the executive offices of the Pendragon Corporation were located. "Bloody hell. How can you even _see_ me from way up there?"

Morgana's smirk was audible. "I've tapped into my mystical visionary powers."

"So, you've hacked the CCTV feeds again."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"That's because it's still none of your business." Since he doubted Morgana could see his scowl on the security cameras, Arthur instead directed it to the crowd gathered in the courtyard in front of the Pendragon building. Bloody protesters.

"Arthur, is now really the time for another of your trysts?"

"Like you have room to talk. At least I keep my affairs out of the office." Mostly. There had been that one instance with Owain from Marketing. And that other disaster with Sophia.

"Liar."

Arthur frowned at the crosswalk light, willing it to change so he could make his escape. "Was there a point to this phone call, or are you just stalking me for the fun of it?"

"Actually, Uther wanted me to remind you about your 10:00 meeting with the zoning department."

Arthur groaned in the back of his throat. The only thing that kept Arthur from clenching his jaw hard enough to crack his teeth was that the light had finally changed. Quickly, he stepped off the curb and made a hasty escape. "I'm well aware of my duties, Morgana." This was the second time today that Uther had reminded him about the land development being finalized today—the project that Arthur, not his father, was in charge of overseeing. "Tell my father I'll be there," he sighed. Without so much as a goodbye, he clicked his phone shut, and was promptly drenched in two large cups of scalding hot coffee.

Arthur's yowl of pain was followed rapidly by an attempt to peel the soiled, _Armani_ shirt away from his chest before it burned itself into his skin. "You…You _idiot!_" he roared, frantically checking his Excalibur to make sure it had miraculously survived the moron's bumbling thoughtlessness.

"Oh, my god. I am so sorry!" the idiot stammered. "I didn't mean to—I was just walking, and I wasn't—"

Arthur looked at the moron for the first time since the collision, casting him the most withering glare in his arsenal, the one that made even executive VPs cringe in fear. The idiot just stared back, blue eyes wide and apologetic under an unruly mop of black hair that did nothing to disguise his enormous ears. The boy was wearing some ridiculous unicorn t-shirt over his scrawny frame, and…dear god. Was that actually a _neckerchief?_ Arthur didn't know fashion sense that bad even existed!

"I'll pay for the cleaning bill," the idiot said, still waving his hands in some bizarre manner apparently meant to convey either 'I'm sorry' or 'I'm about to have a seizure.' It was difficult to tell.

"You couldn't possibly afford the cleaning bill!" Arthur scoffed. "This shirt is worth more than your _life_." Without a moment's thought, he reached out and snatched the hideous scarf from the moron's neck and began using it to scrub futilely at the stain.

"Hey!"

"I'm doing you a favor, trust me," Arthur said, still trying to manfully rescue his shirt from its inevitable doom.

"Look, you don't have to be such a prat," the idiot said, sounding decidedly less apologetic. "It was an accident, and my shirt's ruined, too!"

"Ha!" Arthur retorted, casting a disparaging glance at the ridiculous unicorn emblem. "You should be grateful that the fashion gods saw fit to—" But then Arthur got a good look at the shirt and paused. He glanced at the throng of protestors. Then he glanced back at the hideous shirt. Then he noticed, for the first time, the neon orange flyers scattered all over the middle of the street and drenched in the remains of the spilled coffee. "Oh my god!" he blurted. "You're one of _them!_"

"Um…what?"

"Them!" Arthur gestured emphatically at the swarm of people picketing his company and chanting and handing out more of those _blindingly orange fliers_. "Those crazy Greenpeace-Peta-whatever-you-call-yourselves reactionaries. That's _you!_"

The idiot crossed his arms peevishly. "We're called the United Kingdom Organization for the Restoration of Nature, actually."

"You're the ones who've been protesting my company all week!"

"_Your_ company? What do you—" The man's eyes widened comically. "Oh. Oh god. You're Arthur Pendragon."

"Don't try to pretend like you don't know who I am after you just attempted to _assault me_ during a protest! I could have you arrested!"

"_Arrested?_ It was just a bit of coffee!"

"Yes. _Boiling hot_ coffee. You nearly melted my skin off!"

But the moron wasn't even paying attention any more. He was busy staring at something over Arthur's shoulder. "Um, Arthur, I think we should—"

"Don't think. You're clearly not cut out for it," Arthur interrupted acidly. "You know, I've half a mind to call in the riot squad to put a stop to your pathetic protest, but attracting that kind of publicity would just be doing you lot a favor. If you thought for one second that my company would be cowed by some hare-brained assault obviously intended as an ill-conceived publicity stunt, then you are sadly mistaken!"

"Arthur—"

"Wait until my lawyers get a hold of this. Your pathetic organization won't know what hit you. You won't even see it coming!"

"Arthur!" the idiot shouted. Then he tackled Arthur to the pavement just as a huge red double decker bus rumbled past.

"Speaking of not seeing things coming…" the idiot griped, unnecessarily smug, and obviously unconcerned that he'd just _struck Arthur's head against the asphalt._ Arthur groaned, one hand coming up to gingerly cup the back of his own head. If there was blood and Arthur had to get the back of his head shaved for stitches, he was going to sue for irreparable psychological damage. He rather liked his hair. He worked hard to keep it this shiny.

He was relieved when he felt no blood oozing between his fingers, only the beginnings of a small lump. "If you're still trying to convince me this isn't an assault, you're doing a terrible job of it."

Arthur opened his eyes to meet an incredulous glare. "You have got to be the biggest prat I have _ever_ met. I just saved you from being hit by a bus!"

"Don't expect that to keep me from pressing charges." And perhaps Arthur had hit his head a little bit harder than he initially thought, because when the idiot rolled his eyes in exasperation, Arthur was suddenly struck by how very bright blue they were. From there it was a natural progression to notice the pink mouth poised inches from his own, and the weight of the body pressing surprisingly comfortably against his chest, and when exactly had his hands settled against the man's hips?

The man seemed to realize their position at the same time as Arthur, but he didn't move away, and Arthur didn't move to shove him off. The moment hung heavy and awkward between them. And also, maybe Arthur was suffering from a bit of shock as well as the concussion, because very belatedly the realization slammed into him like…well, like a very bad pun. "Oh my god. _I almost got hit by a bus!_"

The idiot rolled off of him with an infuriated groan and Arthur suddenly remembered how to breathe. He prayed for unconsciousness, but he knew it wouldn't save him from his fate. He gave it a good hour or so before Morgana would have copies of the CCTV tapes of his near-death-experience and heroic rescue at the hands of the world's worst-dressed idiot circulating through the office like wildfire.

He'd never live this down.

* * *

And that was how, in a freak spat of gratefulness and generosity, Uther Pendragon wound up offering Merlin Emrys a job as Arthur's personal assistant.

* * *

"You're not going to take the job, are you?" Gwen said that night, eyeing Merlin hopefully from across the dining room table of the tiny apartment she and Lance shared. "I mean, obviously, you're not. The man's a bully, you've said so yourself. So, I mean, of course you're not taking it. Obviously." She paused, raising one dubious eyebrow. "Right?"

Merlin shrugged, trying not to look guilty and confused and inexplicably excited, but he was a terrible liar. Gwen gasped.

"Look, it's not like I'm going to turn into one of Pendragon's mindless yuppies, or anything. But I'll be working closely with the man in charge of the land development deal we've spent the last four months fighting. Maybe I can work out a way to convince him to call it off, or at least not build a bloody shopping centre in the middle of land that should be a nature reserve."

Gwen looked supremely unconvinced. "So, you'll be working from the inside. Like a spy."

"Yes, exactly!"

What Merlin refrained from mentioning was the fact that in addition to being the head of the land development deal and the world's most pompous arse, Arthur Pendragon was also _bloody gorgeous._ Well, at least until he opened his mouth and any number of pratly things came tumbling out. Still, Merlin was not above admitting to himself that getting to see Britain's most eligible bachelor every day, _up close_, was one hell of a job perk. It might even make up for the fact that Merlin would be forced to put up with the man for longer than five minutes at a time.

But more than that, Merlin felt like this was something he had to do, like there was a reason behind it. He hated to start sounding like his mother and mentioning things like destiny and fate, but it wasn't every day that Merlin ran into potentially helpful and powerful men on the street. Well, okay, Merlin actually _did_ run into people on a fairly regular basis, but none of them had ever been _Arthur bloody Pendragon._ There was no logical reason for Merlin to think he could change the man's mind , but he felt like he at least had to try.

Merlin's thoughts were interrupted when Gwen asked, "Merlin, are you sure you can manage something like that? Not that I don't think you could do it, or that I think you need to be MI5 material, or anything, because you're clearly not." Gwen's eyes widened and she rushed on, "I mean, um, that's good, that you're not, I mean. Because if you were MI5 material we'd never have met because you'd be doing something much better than working at The Smithy—not that it's not a good job, clearly, but it's better than skiving for a corporate bully. That is, um…" She looked desperate to shut herself up, and Merlin took pity on her.

"Lance, what do you think?" he asked hopefully.

Lancelot placed a hand gravely on Merlin's shoulder and said with only minimal sarcasm, "I think it's brave and admirable to venture into the belly of the beast. You will die a noble death."

Merlin sighed and faceplanted into the table.

* * *

On Merlin's first day at the Pendragon Corporation, he was kept waiting in the (giant and ostentatious) lobby for an hour. Apparently, Arthur was in a meeting or something. Merlin didn't mind. He wasn't exactly in a rush to start working for Executive Vice President Pratface. He had spent most of the time staring at the poster on the wall above the receptionist's head, which was apparently meant as a parody of those motivational posters he'd seen in similar office buildings. It showed a picture of the Great Pyramids and read underneath, _Achievement: You can do anything you set your mind to when you have vision, determination, and an endless supply of expendable labor._ Merlin had a sinking suspicion that the poster was not being used with the sense of irony that was intended.

He was actually starting to nod off when a gorgeous woman with long dark hair and a blazing expression burst into the room, walked up to him and said, "Arthur's an ass."

Merlin just boggled at her. "Er…" If she was expecting any argument from him, she'd certainly come to the wrong place. Besides, even if he'd wanted to object, it seemed all the sections of his brain previously designated for speech had been hijacked in the epic effort not to notice the spectacular cleavage visible in her low-cut blouse.

"He's not in a meeting," she clarified. "In fact, he's not doing anything right now except sulking in his office like a spoiled brat." She graced him with a smile that was both cunning and gleefully evil. "I'll just take you to see him, shall I?"

She turned on her expensive Italian heel and stalked off. Merlin could only assume he was meant to follow her. She led him down long corridors of shining glass and steel filled with bustling people dressed in designer suits. Merlin tugged at the suddenly too-tight collar of his own simple blue shirt and red tie, which he'd gotten off the sale rack at the local Primark. He was so busy trying to take everything in that he stumbled into her back when she stopped in front of a large, rather imposing reception desk. "Erm, sorry," he muttered.

She smiled, apparently finding his clumsiness more endearing than annoying. "This will be your desk," she said kindly. "I trust it suits your needs sufficiently?"

Merlin's eyes widened, taking in the massive desk that was bigger than his bed at home, the computer monitor the size of a flat-screen TV, and the rather comfortable looking leather chair. "Are you joking? I'd like to move in!"

Her lips curled wryly, and she gestured to the rather dramatic set of doors behind the desk. "You'll have to take that up with Arthur." Merlin stared at what he now assumed to be the doors to Arthur's office, and his heart sank. On one door was another large poster, this time of a magnificent, regal lion above the blazing word IMPORTANCE. Underneath, in stark white lettering, it read, _Vanish from my sight, peons._

Right, so…definitely not ironic, then.

The woman completely ignored the message on the door and pushed them open without bothering to knock. Merlin had just enough time to take in the sight of a desk twice the size of Merlin's and an office the size of a small country before the high-backed chair swiveled around, and Merlin's vision was suddenly filled with only golden hair and vivid blue eyes framed by sleek wire-rimmed glasses. And really, Merlin should not still find the man as beautiful as he had when he'd first met him, now that he knew what an insufferable, infuriating arse he was.

"Morgana!" Arthur snapped. "Do you mind? I'm in the middle of—" He stopped, spotting Merlin in the doorway. "Oh," he said flatly. "It's you."

* * *

Arthur tried not to look surprised at the sight of his new assistant standing in his doorway, wearing an even more idiotic expression than the last time he'd seen the man. He would have expected the bloody moron to have stormed out of the reception area in a huff by now.

Morgana radiated smug satisfaction as she said, "I thought I'd take it upon myself to welcome your new protégé, since you couldn't be arsed to do it."

Arthur clenched his jaw. "He's not my protégé, he's my _assistant_. And don't you have more important things to do than go poking around my business? Though I don't really consider snogging half the staff important."

Morgana turned to his assistant and said genially, "Don't mind him, Merlin. He gets cranky when other people are getting laid more than him."

"_Morgana!_"

"What? It's the truth," she replied innocently.

"Just get out of here. I think you've been quite helpful enough for today." Arthur rather _insistently_ walked her out of the office, pausing when they got to the door to eye Morgana's attire. At least that explained his new assistant's current slack-jawed state. "And for god's sake, Morgana, cover those up. He'll be absolutely useless to me if you destroy his brain with your breasts."

Morgana smirked and looked over Arthur's shoulder. "Relax, Arthur. It's not _my_ ass he's staring at right now." Morgana exited with a flourish, and Arthur turned around sharply to catch the line of Merlin's gaze just before it flicked up to Arthur's face.

Merlin's face flushed pink and his eyebrows climbed up his forehead. "…Um," he started, and all it took was that one syllable before Arthur decided he really didn't want to deal with whatever clumsy explanation came tumbling from his new assistant's mouth.

"Right then," he interrupted. "I need these reports copied, collated and filed," he ordered, pointing to a massive stack of papers on his desk. "And try not to get lost on your way to the copy machine."

* * *

Merlin decided, later that day, when he was up to his armpits in shredded paper and had paper cuts all over his fingers and had ink stains all over his new tie, that either the copy machine was possessed by a furious army of Saxons or Arthur was an evil, sadistic bastard. Probably both, given that all Arthur had to say for Merlin's hours of hard work was a condescending, "My god, can't you manage anything right? You look like you got molested by a toner cartridge."

* * *

Halfway through the day, Arthur wondered why a crowd had assembled in the break room. He received his answer when he walked in to find Merlin tampering with the coffee machine.

In any other office, this probably wouldn't have been a public spectacle. In the Pendragon Corporation, however, they had the Lexus of all coffee machines, a bloody behemoth that cost more than Arthur made in a month and with enough bells and whistles that Arthur suspected the thing could launch satellites and take over the world, in addition to make coffee. It looked like a cross between the Death Star and the TARDIS controls. The thing even had _levers._ It had been a gift from a very grateful, very wealthy, and very _eccentric_ client.

Right next to the beast sat a very small, very simple Mr. Coffee, because no one in the office had a bloody clue how to work the other damn thing.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Arthur bellowed, wondering if he'd arrived in time to prevent Merlin from inadvertently setting the self destruct and blowing the entire bloody building to kingdom come.

Merlin, however, just turned that idiotically blinding grin on him and said, "Relax, I'm a professional!" Then he pulled a lever and pressed a few buttons and the machine started making a truly terrifying noise. Merlin continued to blithely work the contraption as if channeling David Tennant, and with a great deal more twisting and shimmying of his hips than Arthur thought was strictly necessary. Arthur noticed nearly all of the women and a few of the men in the crowd were watching with avid interest. From the looks on their faces, it was as if Merlin was doing a bloody strip tease, not making a cup of coffee.

Abruptly, the noise shut off and Merlin turned, holding a steaming mug in his hand. He held it out to Arthur with a raised eyebrow and a grin that was entirely too smug for his own good. "Want the first taste?" he offered.

Arthur tentatively accepted the mug as if it contained nitro glycerin. After a moment's hesitation, he took his life into his hands and ventured a small sip. Then he took a larger one. Then he had to restrain himself from downing half the mug in one go.

"Admit it," Merlin said, grin practically splitting his face in two. "I'm brilliant."

Arthur frowned. "You're not _completely_ useless, I suppose," he said, which the crowd apparently took as a ringing endorsement and began applauding Merlin like a conquering hero and clapping him on the shoulder in congratulations. Arthur noticed more than a few people's hands lingered longer than was really proper.

Arthur decided he would leave the Mr. Coffee for the general staff, but the other appliance would have to be moved into Arthur's private conference room, strictly for productivity reasons. It wouldn't do to have his assistant put on an impromptu Chippendale's show for the rest of the staff every time Merlin wanted a coffee for his break.

* * *

By the end of the day, Merlin felt like an extra on Shaun of the Dead. All he needed was a cricket bat lodged in his skull to go along with his raging headache. Arthur still looked as fresh and crisp as his designer suit.

"I trust you've already packed everything for the move?" Arthur asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

Merlin's sluggish brain struggled to make sense of that, but all he could come up with was, "Uh…what move?"

Arthur rolled his eyes heavenward, as if praying for divine patience. Merlin had been doing something similar all day. "The move out of your old flat, you twit."

Merlin suddenly felt much less tired. "I get a new flat?"

"Don't go getting too excited, it's just the spare bedroom. You'd be even more useless than you are now if I had to wait for you to drive across town whenever I needed you to do my laundry or clean my flat or cook my meals." He gazed at Merlin in confusion. "Didn't anybody tell you that you'd be moving?"

"No, they didn't," Merlin replied peevishly. "That's the kind of thing I expect you'd have your assistant tell me, except oh, wait, _I'm your assistant._" Then, belatedly, Merlin's brain came to a startling realization. "Wait, I'm supposed to live with you?"

Arthur looked about as happy about the concept as Merlin felt. "Didn't you bother to ask my father what this job entailed before you accepted? Your duties don't end when we leave the office. You're on call twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. You have to do whatever I tell you, whenever I tell you to do it." He smirked, and it looked far too gleeful for Merlin's comfort. Merlin was suddenly reminded of the poster from this morning. The one about slave labor. "For example, we'll start with you clearing out the spare bedroom. After we go collect your things, of course."

Merlin sighed. At least it would be better than living in his mother's guest bedroom.

* * *

Arthur was absolutely no help with packing. He spent most of his time giving Merlin orders and making snide remarks. "UniKORN? Really?" he asked, spying the poster on Merlin's wall. "_Really?_"

Merlin wadded up a few more shirts and tossed them in the box. "I've told you before, that's the environmental organization where I volunteer. The ones who've been trying to stop _your_ land development deal," he reminded irritably. Then he added, with a touch of pride, "The United Kingdom Organization for the Restoration of Nature."

Arthur eyed him skeptically. "And you call yourselves _UniKORN._"

Merlin sighed and taped the box shut. "Well, otherwise we'd be called UKORN, and that just sounds silly."

* * *

Arthur lived in the penthouse suite of the Camelot Hotel, one of his father's more profitable investments. Despite the name, this was no cheesy, themed hotel. There were no indoor jousting matches or Renaissance attired bellhops. Instead, the hotel capitalized on the splendor and grandeur inherent in the name. The stately lobby glittered with gold and crystal, gilt furniture was arranged under the massive chandelier, and ornate frescos decorated the expansive walls and arched ceiling. It was a palace truly worthy of its namesake. Arthur, however, didn't even bother to glance at his surroundings as he led Merlin through the large glass doors towards the lifts. He had to go back for his new assistant _twice,_ since the idiot was too busy gaping in open-mouthed awe to bother walking more than five steps at a time.

Merlin's reaction to Arthur's penthouse was much the same, though the style of Arthur's décor was decidedly different from the old world splendor of the rest of the hotel. The flat occupied most of the top floor, its open floor plan interrupted only by Arthur's sleek, expensive furniture and the spiral staircase leading up to the roof. The only closed off portion was the two bedrooms on one side, leaving the other three walls open, their unbroken line of windows giving a panoramic view of the London horizon. It was the kind of set up that Arthur liked to think reflected his status and accomplishments; not so much a reward, as his rightful due for faithfully performing his duty to the company.

Upon entering, Merlin immediately dropped his belongings where he stood and rushed to one of the windows, pressing his nose to the glass as he took in the red and gold of the September sunset. Arthur frowned. He'd make sure Merlin cleaned off his nose and handprint smudges later.

"This is bloody brilliant!" Merlin exclaimed, his enthusiasm almost visibly seeping out his pores. He dashed around the flat, running an almost reverent hand over the leather of Arthur's sofa and poking shamelessly through the cupboards in his kitchen. Arthur bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from snapping about the invasion of privacy. Merlin may have no compunction about rifling through Arthur's flat as if it were his own, but it would take Arthur a while to get used to the fact that he was essentially being forced to share his private domain with a total stranger.

Arthur's musings were interrupted when Merlin called from the foot of the spiral stair, "What's up here?"

"That's the roof." Arthur had barely formed the words before Merlin was already shooting up the stairs as fast as his spindly legs could carry him, and Arthur was forced to follow. He emerged into the not-quite-fresh air characteristic of the heart of London and stopped to see Merlin looking like he'd just found the Holy Grail itself.

"This…this is amazing," he breathed, spinning in slow circles as if trying to take it all in at once. Arthur didn't see what was so fascinating about a giant, flat slab of concrete. "What are you planning to do with it?"

"Do with it?" Arthur asked, bemused.

Now it was Merlin's turn to look confused. "You have all this space! Surely you plan on using it for something!" He perused the area again, muttering mostly to himself, "Maybe a garden?"

Arthur was momentarily struck by the thought of himself with flowery gardening gloves and a trowel, hunched over azaleas like somebody's grandmother. "I hardly think I can find time in my busy schedule for _gardening_, Merlin. The only time I even come up here is when I need to take my helicopter."

Merlin's eyes got comically wide. "You have a _helicopter?_"

Arthur smirked, but didn't elaborate. "Would you like to see your new room?"

As it turned out, Arthur didn't have to worry about Merlin cleaning out the spare bedroom after all. Arthur wasn't sure he'd ever met anybody with so few possessions as his new assistant. His meager collection of clothes, mostly ratty t-shirts, barely took up an eighth of the closet space. It made Arthur inexplicably want to run out and buy the man at least five new suits. Arthur couldn't fathom how anyone could survive without the daily sensation of Armani against their skin.

The room was large and sparsely furnished, since Arthur rarely had overnight guests (well, at least not the kind who would be using the spare bedroom, in any case). He imagined the room would still look Spartan even after Merlin had managed to unpack all of his earthly belongings.

Then Merlin slapped his UniKORN poster up on the wall next to a specially commissioned Picasso replica, and Arthur thought that Spartan might be an improvement.

* * *

On Merlin's second day on the job, there was a ceramic unicorn figurine on his desk. He glared darkly at the doors to Arthur's office, but just as he was about to drop the figurine into his empty bottom drawer (or possibly the trash bin), he reconsidered. The last thing Merlin wanted to see was Arthur's smug, malicious grin when he spotted the unicorn on top of the rubbish pile. When Arthur came out to give Merlin his instructions for the day, he spared an incredulous glance for the figurine's prominent display next to his monitor, but he didn't comment.

Merlin ran all of the errands on Arthur's list, polished his shoes, picked up his dry cleaning, and battled the demonic copy machine for the better part of an hour. Whatever spare moments Merlin had were normally spent trying to bring up the land development deal, but Arthur either ignored him or made inane comments like asking if UniKORN only hired virgins. Merlin responded by not-quite-accidentally spilling coffee all over Arthur's finance reports.

The next day, Merlin sighed when he spotted three more unicorn figurines on his desk.

[Part 2](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/19353.html#cutid1)

.


	2. Two Weeks Notice (2/5)

  
  
  
  
  


**Entry tags:**

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[fandom: merlin](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fandom%3A%20merlin), [fic: two weeks notice](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fic%3A%20two%20weeks%20notice), [genre: angst](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20angst), [genre: au](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20au), [genre: drama](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20drama), [genre: fluff](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20fluff), [genre: humor](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20humor), [genre: prompt/challenge response](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20prompt%2Fchallenge%20response), [genre: romance](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20romance), [pairing: merlin/arthur](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/pairing%3A%20merlin%2Farthur), [rating: nc-17](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/rating%3A%20nc-17)  
  
  
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Arthur absently shifted the file in his grip, turning the corner to Morgana's office just in time to see Owain trying, unsuccessfully, to nonchalantly slip out the door. His hair was a mess, his tie was crooked, and the buttons of his shirt had been done up wrong. His shirt tail was hanging out his open fly. Arthur raised an eyebrow and Owain blushed fit to put a tomato to shame, then dashed off as fast as he could without overtly running, trying frantically to put himself to rights along the way.

By the time Arthur burst through Morgana's doors, she was blessedly decent. (He'd waited a few moments outside Morgana's office, because the last thing he wanted to see was his wicked stepsister with her blouse undone.) She didn't even look up as he slapped the file down on her desk, too busy staring fixedly at her computer monitor. Arthur scowled, but before he could open his mouth Morgana said, "Did you know there's a security camera in the eighteenth floor supply room?"

Arthur's frown deepened. He frantically tried to remember if he'd ever had any…_private_ meetings with Sophia (or, admittedly, a few of the other office secretaries) in that supply room. "No," he answered, really hoping this wasn't going where he suspected it was.

Morgana smirked. "Neither do Gawain and Galahad."

Arthur's ire rose. Was _everyone_ in this sodding company fucking each other? "_That's_ what you and Owain were in here doing? Watching ill-begotten porn about your _coworkers?_" When Morgana simply shrugged and continued to stare at the screen, Arthur let out a frustrated groan and reached over to yank the power cable from Morgana's monitor. He caught a flash of the screen before it blessedly went black. "And really, Morgana, _Owain?_" Arthur continued, latching onto any subject that would drive out the image of the two interns going at it like rabbits in grainy black and white. "I should fire him, just on principle. I had hoped he had brains enough not to drop his trousers the first time you flashed your breasts at him, but clearly I underestimated his intelligence."

"Or you underestimated the power of my breasts. I've been assured they're quite spectacular," she countered, grinning maniacally as Arthur grimaced and steadfastly refused to consider the impressiveness of his stepsister's cleavage. Really, Arthur should have known better than to get drawn into this kind of conversation with Morgana. She took too much delight in horrifying him to within an inch of his sanity. He always came away from their private meetings feeling like the inside of his head needed a good scrubbing out with the most powerful antiseptic money could buy. "Admit it," she continued, "you're just jealous that I got to him first."

Arthur had been assaulted with far too many traumatizing images in the last thirty seconds to form a coherent retort, so he was left to sputter the first indignant thought that formed in his mind. "You did not!"

"Three months ago," Morgana said pleasantly. Arthur eyed her skeptically, because he'd never known Morgana to date anyone longer than three _weeks_. Apparently reading his thoughts, she added, "We have an open relationship."

Arthur narrowed his eyes and said in a tone that was not at all petulant, "He's not even that good."

Morgana's expression reminded Arthur of how a cat might smile around a mouthful of canary. "Perhaps you just never gave him the right incentive to perform." Arthur opened his mouth to protest either the affront to his dignity or the truly terrifying images he was now being forced to contemplate, but Morgana spoke first. "Speaking of incentive, how are things working out with that new assistant of yours?"

Arthur flopped down into the chair across from Morgana's desk and let out an irritated sigh to disguise his relief at the change of subject. "Abysmally. He's quite possibly the worst assistant I've _ever_ had."

"He can't be all that bad. He's only been here a week. He needs time to adjust."

Arthur leveled Morgana with an incredulous glare. "Yesterday, he tripped over a network cable and catapulted his coffee mug face down onto his keyboard."

"So? Accidents happen, that doesn't mean—"

"Our network is _wireless._"

"…Ah," Morgana said, not very successfully hiding her grin behind her hand. "Well, perhaps what he needs is a gentler touch?"

Arthur eyeballed Morgana warily. "If you're implying what I think you're implying, the answer's no. You'd probably wind up giving him a venereal disease, and I fail to see how that will improve his work performance."

Morgana's eye roll was epic. "I mean, perhaps you need to try an approach that doesn't have all the finesse of a crazed grizzly. Ask him about his friends, or his hobbies, or compliment him once in a while. Maybe offer to buy him lunch and actually _talk to him_, instead of ordering him about all the time. Find a way to bond with him. You might find yourself actually liking him."

Arthur boggled at the thought. "Are you saying I should _seduce Merlin?_ Have you developed syphilis and finally gone _mental?_"

Morgana's lips pursed. "I'm just saying, Arthur, that it might be beneficial to develop a little mutual respect. For his sake as well as yours."

Arthur was loath to admit it, but she potentially had a point. It was impossible to miss that Merlin and Arthur mixed about as well as oil and water. Most of this was due to Merlin's blatant refusal to show Arthur the respect he clearly deserved. Maybe a shared activity or two would give Arthur a chance to impress upon his assistant Arthur's brilliance and prowess, and Merlin would finally acknowledge that he couldn't spend all afternoon ignoring Arthur's requests in favor of looking at 'lolcats' and playing Bejeweled.

"I'll take it under advisement," Arthur said, tossing the monitor cable into Morgana's hands. "And I'll be informing security that they need better firewalls on the CCTV feeds."

Arthur turned his back on Morgana's scowl, but she called his name when he reached the door. When he glanced back over his shoulder, she was looking suspiciously coy. "By the way, if you're _really_ not interested in Merlin, do you mind if I…?"

She wasn't serious. She couldn't _possibly_ be serious. This was _Merlin_. All the same, Arthur felt his fist grip the doorknob with white knuckles and his voice was dangerously close to a growl as he said, "Keep your claws out of him, Morgana."

Morgana's answering grin was eerily similar to the one she'd worn when they were ten and she'd caught him sneaking handfuls of cookies before dinner. "Just checking," she said airily.

_   
**Two Weeks Notice (2/5)**   
_

* * *

"_Hunting_," Merlin said, aghast. "You want to take me _hunting._"

Arthur was nonplussed. "Stop being such a girl, Merlin. It's good fun."

Merlin felt quite sure his eyes were going to pop out of his head and roll around on the desk. "Arthur, I'm a _vegan!_"

Arthur snorted dismissively. "It's not as if I expect you to actually shoot anything. Just carry my pack and ammunition. And for once, do try and keep your mouth _shut_."

* * *

Hunting was a complete disaster. Whenever Merlin wasn't lecturing Arthur on the inalienable rights of cute fluffy bunnies to go on producing even more cute fluffy bunnies until the world was positively overrun with large-eared rodents, he was doing his best to scare away all the game. He crashed through the underbrush like a drunken rhinoceros. He dropped all of Arthur's crossbow bolts in a crash that sent a flock of birds into startled flight. And the one time Arthur had miraculously spotted a doe through the trees, Merlin had very loudly snapped a branch underfoot and then somehow managed to look both defiant and innocent in the face of Arthur's murderous frustration.

Still, Arthur thought the whole thing was almost worth it when the next morning he made Merlin fetch Arthur's coffee in a mug that read, _Meat is Murder. Tasty, tasty murder._

Merlin's ensuing glare was priceless.

* * *

In the end, Arthur decided just having lunch with his assistant would be a better attempt at this whole 'bonding' thing. He never really intended for it to become a regular event, but after the first few times, Arthur found he'd grown rather addicted to seeing what spectacularly hilarious faces he could get Merlin to make just by revealing the contents of his lunch. The (one and only) time Arthur brought a veal sandwich and Merlin threatened murder if he ever brought it again, Arthur had to marvel at the irony.

Still, Merlin seemed equally amused by Arthur's reactions to whatever tofu-soy-seaweed concoction he'd thrown together, so it was really a win-win situation.

The lunch meetings failed to improve Merlin's work performance, but at least they were entertaining.

* * *

Two weeks into his job as Arthur's assistant, Merlin replaced the poster outside Arthur's office door. Gone was the regal lion, and in its place was a rather put-upon looking lion with a cub climbing all over its face. Underneath, the poster read, _Nepotism: We promote family values here - almost as often as we promote family members._

The poster was up for two days without so much as a glare from Arthur, which was very disappointing, and also hilarious. Arthur may not have noticed the change, but almost everyone else had. The rest of the office regarded Merlin as either crazy or brilliant. Bartholomew, the terrified intern, was convinced that Merlin had brass balls the size of pie plates. Then Morgana stopped by.

She eyed the poster and raised one perfectly sculpted brow in Merlin's direction. Merlin just shrugged in what he hoped was an apologetic manner. (He figured she knew the poster's sentiment wasn't directed at her, but she was still very scary, and Merlin knew better than to piss her off.)

Morgana stepped into Arthur's office, and there was a blessed thirty seconds of silence behind the deceptively placid closed doors before a very unmistakable voice bellowed, "MERLIN!"

Merlin smirked, already beating a hasty retreat to the break room.

* * *

Arthur's response to what he internally referred to as the "Nepotism Incident" was to place another, very large poster on the wall right across from Merlin's desk, depicting a Great Dane towering over a Chihuahua. This one said, _Intimidation: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent, but you'd be a fool to withhold that from your superiors._

Merlin had been in the office for five minutes before Arthur's Excalibur let out the irritatingly cheerful chirp that signaled a new text. He smirked when he read Merlin's words. _I'm pretty sure these posters were intended as jokes, not royal edicts._

Arthur's answer was to send Merlin for more coffee (it really wasn't much of an excuse, given that Merlin was something of a wizard with the coffee machine and Arthur had become a bit of an addict) then he changed Merlin's desktop background to a picture of one horse sniffing another horse's arse with the subtitle, _Flattery: If you want to get to the top, prepare to kiss a lot of the bottom._ Arthur used one of Merlin's brightly colored post-its to scrawl out the message, _They're not edicts, but they're good advice,_ and stuck it to Merlin's monitor.

When Merlin brought Arthur his coffee, he was wearing an obscenely large grin as he asked, "So, does that make you the horse's arse in this scenario?"

Arthur scowled into his coffee. Perhaps his plan had backfired.

* * *

Once winter hit, Merlin learned very quickly that whenever it snowed, Arthur would want stew. Merlin had tried on several occasions, and with varying levels of unsuccess, to substitute a hearty vegetable soup. Eventually, Merlin decided that drastic measures needed to be taken.

Merlin kept his face carefully blank, trying to look harmless and innocent and _completely above suspicion_ as he spooned the stew into Arthur's bowl. He probably failed miserably, but luckily Arthur was too busy scrolling through the latest market forecasts on his Excalibur-Blackberry-iPhone-thing to notice. He was so enraptured with the financial reports he'd already taken several bites before he paused, reluctantly shifting half his focus to the meal in front of him.

"What kind of meat is this?" he asked curiously. "It has a very strange texture."

Merlin took a bite of his own stew and replied in a cautiously neutral tone, "It's pork."

Arthur scoffed, his attention now fully focused on the bowl. "This isn't pork. It's too spongy. And the flavor is all wrong. What is it? It's, um…" He took another bite and pondered. Merlin caught the exact moment Arthur puzzled it out, his face shifting from mildly intrigued to horrified realization. "…This is tofu, isn't it?"

Merlin smirked and helped himself to another spoonful. "Stop being such a sissy and eat it. It's not that bad, really."

Arthur looked like he was barely restraining his gag reflex. "Not that bad? Merlin, I would rather eat _rat stew_ than this vile concoction!"

Merlin frowned. "That can be arranged," he muttered darkly. "Look, I'm not making separate meals for the both of us, so it's this or nothing."

Arthur's eyes narrowed dangerously. "If you starve me to death, you'll no longer have an employer, and therefore you'll no longer have a _job._"

Merlin didn't bother to temper the glare he shot across the table. "Believe me, Arthur, that's not much of a threat."

Arthur's mouth twisted furiously before he spoke, his voice close to a shout. "Well maybe I should do you a favor and sack you then!"

That finally pushed Merlin's temper over the edge. Throwing down his spoon he stood and yelled, "Go ahead! I never wanted to work for your arrogant arse, anyway!"

Arthur stood and met Merlin's gaze. "Good! I'll be able to hire a decent assistant for a change!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Arse!"

"Moron!"

_Slam._

_Slam._

Merlin fumed in his room for a solid six hours before his roaring stomach overruled his roaring fury, and he slunk back to the kitchen. He hiked himself up onto Arthur's expensive granite countertop and sullenly ate his stew, making sure to leave as many greasy fingerprints on the polished stone as he could. It wasn't like he'd be cleaning it up tomorrow.

Merlin had finished half the bowl when Arthur's bedroom door opened and he stepped out wearing his pajama pants and Oxford Blue t-shirt, looking deliciously sleep rumpled despite the fact that his slightly bloodshot eyes showed he'd been doing about as much sleeping as Merlin had. It made Merlin want to choke Arthur with his spoon out of spite.

Arthur spared Merlin an inscrutable glance then proceeded to completely ignore Merlin's presence as he puttered around the kitchen. Merlin ignored him back as best he could, but his traitorous eyes refused to obey his commands and seemed drawn to Arthur of their own volition. He spent an embarrassingly long time sneaking glances at the pillow creases on Arthur's cheek and the way his hair stuck straight up on one side, and then, very belatedly, Merlin realized Arthur had just prepared his own bowl of leftover stew.

Arthur hiked himself up onto the countertop alongside Merlin, bare feet dangling above the ground and spoon in hand. Merlin was openly staring now as Arthur poked his spoon tentatively into his bowl and began picking out tofu chunks, then depositing them into the bowl in Merlin's hand. This went on for several silent minutes, until Arthur was apparently satisfied that all nefarious bits of soy product had been safely shoveled into Merlin's bowl and he took a healthy bite of the mushrooms and vegetables left over. "You know, it wouldn't kill you to make me a steak once in a while," he said into his bowl.

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "No, I…I suppose it wouldn't."

Arthur hazarded a sidelong glance in Merlin's direction, and their gazes held for a few moments before they both dissolved into sloppy half-grins. Arthur nudged Merlin's ankle with one bare foot and said, "Eat your horrid stew. You look like a bloody stick figure."

Merlin's grin widened and they ate the rest of their stew in happy silence.

* * *

It was a cold, rainy February morning when Arthur opened up his office to find a rolled up poster on his desk. He unrolled it to view the giant image of a luminescent pearl and the words underneath that read, _Beauty: If you're attractive enough on the outside, people will forgive you for being irritating to the core._

Attached to the poster was a neon pink post-it with Merlin's distinctive scrawl. _Fine, you win. Consider this sufficient flattery for you to stop leaving BLOODY UNICORN FIGURINES ALL OVER MY DESK._

Arthur smiled. He knew the My Little Ponies would finally get a reaction.

* * *

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted into the flat. "Where's my brown jacket with the silver buttons?" Arthur continued rifling through the mess Merlin had made of his closet and waited for Merlin to stammer out his answer. When the flat remained stubbornly silent, Arthur shouted, "Merlin, you daft twit! _My jacket?_ Where is it?" When Arthur still didn't get a response, he gave up the search and stomped his way to Merlin's room. "So help me, Merlin, if you've lost my favorite jacket, I'll—" But Arthur never got to finish his threat, because when he opened Merlin's door he realized Merlin wasn't there.

Arthur could see a pot of water boiling on the stove, so Merlin couldn't have possibly gone far. A quick perusal of the flat revealed a shaft of light filtering through the partially closed trap door that led up to the roof. Curious, Arthur ascended the spiral staircase and climbed up onto the roof. Once he emerged into the warm spring sunlight, he spotted Merlin fussing with a rather large tent made of white netting that definitely hadn't been there before. "Merlin?"

Merlin's head snapped up in surprise, his fingers instantly tangling in the netting he was trying to hang between the supports. "Arthur? What're you—I didn't—ah!" Merlin apparently lost his battle with the netting, getting it twisted around his feet and tripping in the mess. He fell to the ground with a spectacular crash as the sheet of netting and two of the support poles fell with him, one of them bouncing off Merlin's thick skull before skittering to the concrete. "Ow," Merlin groaned pathetically from his knotted heap.

Arthur unceremoniously hauled Merlin to his feet and began the epic struggle to disentangle his limbs from the netting. "Before I met you, Merlin, I never thought miracles were possible."

Merlin smiled blindingly at him, one arm contorted in a way that couldn't be comfortable. "Really?"

Arthur allowed himself a small smirk and attempted to gently extricated Merlin's arm without dislocating it. "Yes, really. If I hadn't seen it for myself, I never would have believed it possible for someone with your level of coordination to survive this long without spectacularly killing themselves. Congratulations, you're a miracle." Merlin scowled and flailed his way out from underneath the rest of the netting on his own. "Care to tell me why you've chosen to risk your life on my rooftop?"

Merlin scrubbed a hand through his unruly hair, making it stick up in even more crazy tufts. "Er…It was supposed to be a surprise." At Arthur's raised eyebrows, Merlin continued in a rush. "Look, I know you didn't want one, but I couldn't let all this space go to waste, and I figured if you didn't like it, well, it's not like you ever come up here anyway, and—"

"_Mer_lin," Arthur said, "Did you make me a _garden?_"

Merlin's cheeks tinged pink. "Erm, sort of?"

Interest piqued, Arthur pulled back the wall of netting and stepped under the canopy. There were two tables running the length of the tent, each lined with rows of small yellow flowers. There was another table at the end of the enclosure that was piled high with empty jam jars topped with cheesecloth, and inside each jar was a tiny fluttering insect. "So, maybe not a garden in the traditional sense, but…a butterfly garden is still technically a garden."

Arthur's voice was stuck somewhere between incredulous and mildly insulted. "You built me a _butterfly_ garden."

Merlin let out an annoyed huff from somewhere over Arthur's left shoulder, and Arthur didn't need to see him to know he was making his patented face of pained endurance. "Before you open your mouth and devolve into full-scale prat, let me explain why this isn't the affront to your rugged masculinity that you think it is."

Arthur crossed his arms and shifted his attention to his assistant. "Alright, then. Enlighten me."

Merlin picked up one of the pots housing the yellow flowers. "This is the Mortius flower. _Mortius balorus,_ actually. It only grows in the undeveloped area south of London. The area you plan to turn into a new shopping centre."

"Oh, here we go again," Arthur groaned. It seemed like every time he turned around, Merlin was finding some way to bring up the land development deal. Arthur had even gone so far as to show Merlin the figures, to make him understand how _very much money_ the Pendragon Corporation stood to make from this deal, but even that hadn't managed to shut him up.

Arthur was about to open his mouth and tell Merlin to forget it because he simply didn't want to hear any more, but then Merlin's hand clamped over his mouth and Arthur was really too stunned to do anything but stare at his assistant. It was purely due to the shock of Merlin's impudence and had nothing to do with the warmth of Merlin's hand or the fact that Arthur could smell the lingering scent of soap on Merlin's skin. Merlin continued to prattle on as if Arthur hadn't interrupted him. "The Mortius flower is the only food source of the silver spotted skipper, which is a declining species. If you tear up all the land where the flower can grow, the butterflies will die of starvation."

Arthur pried Merlin's hand off his face and said, "I still don't see why I should care."

At Merlin's utterly crestfallen look, Arthur almost wished to take his words back, but he kept his mouth stubbornly silent. Merlin was nothing if not persistent, however, so he stomped his way over to the stack of jars and grabbed the top one, thrusting it into Arthur's hands. "You should care because you'll be wiping out an entire species! Forgive me for thinking that should matter. I thought you'd—I thought I saw something in you. Something that made you better—made you more than just another suit. Maybe I was wrong." Merlin stared straight into Arthur's eyes as he spoke, and Arthur could feel the challenge issued by his words.

Arthur frowned and stood up a little straighter under Merlin's scrutiny. "My responsibility is to the people of my company, not some insect. Saving this butterfly won't put food on my employees' tables."

"You're the one in charge of the project, Arthur," Merlin countered. "Surely there's a way for you to do both."

Arthur spent some time contemplating Merlin's ridiculously earnest face. Almost as an afterthought, he turned his attention to the jar in his hands. The tiny butterfly inside wasn't quite what Arthur expected. It was brown, with white and orange spots on its wings, making it look more like a moth than a butterfly. It was also horridly disproportionate, with a large body and a giant head and rather too-small wings that beat frantically as it flailed about inside the jar. Arthur couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lips. He could see why Merlin felt such a connection to the ridiculous little bugger.

"It's rather ugly for a butterfly. Shouldn't it at least be blue or yellow or something?"

"It's an insect, not a sports car," Merlin replied defensively. "Just because it's not shiny and flashy like _you_ doesn't make it any less important."

Arthur snuck a sly glance at his assistant, who was busily studying the butterfly's uncoordinated flight path around the jar. His lips were pursed in a way very much resembling a girlish pout. "Why am I not at all surprised you've made it a personal quest to save a bunch of butterflies and flowers?"

Merlin ignored the jibe and smiled. "I think she likes you." Arthur turned his attention back to the jar to find that the butterfly had alighted on the bit of cheesecloth underneath the place where Arthur's index finger had curled over the lip of the jar. He could feel its wings fluttering against the pad of his finger. When he looked back up, Merlin was wearing such a soft expression that Arthur had to stare and try to place it. It wasn't often that anyone looked at Arthur with such unguarded affection.

Arthur's veins were flooded with an unfamiliar warmth. He cleared his throat abruptly and thrust the jar back into Merlin's grasp. "I'm sorry, Merlin. My primary duty is to the company."

Oddly, Merlin's soft smile didn't falter. "I know you'll find a way, Arthur. I believe in you."

Arthur didn't have the heart to tell him that even if he found a way, it would likely result in a loss of profits, and his father would never stand for that.

* * *

Arthur was loath to admit it, but Merlin was rather good at guerrilla warfare.

Merlin had launched his covert operation several weeks ago. It had started out as something fairly harmless. He would slip conservation articles into Arthur's financial reports. He signed Arthur up for several mailing lists, meaning Arthur's email and phone had been inundated with messages devoted to the silver spotted skipper. He brought in flower cuttings from his rooftop garden, "To brighten up the office." He even set Arthur's computer to redirect him to the skipper Wikipedia page every time Arthur tried to log on to Yahoo!Games (which happened a lot, actually).

None of this, however, prepared Arthur for Merlin's grand stealth attack.

Arthur stabbed furiously at the intercom button. "Merlin, where are the blasted reports for the Mercia merger? The meeting starts in ten minutes!"

Merlin's tinny voice replied through the speaker, "They're in your top left desk drawer, and no, it doesn't."

Arthur retrieved the folder, answering distractedly, "What are you on about, Merlin? You're making even less sense than usual."

"I mean no, the meeting doesn't start in ten minutes. It's cancelled."

Now Merlin had Arthur's full attention. "You _cancelled_ my meeting?"

"It was Morgana's meeting, actually. And she's the one who cancelled it."

Arthur threw open the door to his office. "Why wasn't I informed?"

Merlin smiled, looking entirely too complacent. "Because it only got cancelled about fifteen minutes ago, and I've been too busy arranging your other meeting to tell you."

"What other meeting?" Arthur asked, suspicious. Merlin was being far too efficient.

"The one I've been arranging. Really, Arthur, are you even listening?"

Arthur glared. "It's times like this that I truly wish the stocks were still a socially acceptable form of punishment."

"You just want an excuse to throw things at my head," Merlin replied airily. "We should really be going. Your helicopter is waiting on the roof."

Arthur blinked. "You called in my _helicopter_ for a meeting?"

Merlin didn't pause as he continued to prod Arthur into the lift. "Well, I know how busy you are, and the meeting's rather far away."

Fifteen minutes later, as they were hovering over the future site of the Pendragon Corporation's new shopping centre, Arthur glared at Merlin and said, "There's no meeting, is there?"

Merlin's grin was completely unapologetic. "There are definitely advantages to being the person in control of your schedule. I'm surprised I didn't think of this a long time ago, actually."

They landed near the edge of a crystal blue lake ringed by those familiar yellow flowers. The sun was shining as if it couldn't wait for spring to tip over into summer. The birds were chirping and insects were buzzing and a cool breeze wafted over the water and Merlin was prattling on about whatever it was he wanted to show Arthur, but Arthur wasn't paying attention to any of it because five seconds after landing his Excalibur had beeped with two messages. One was from his father demanding to know why he wasn't at the office and another from Morgana saying she'd take care of it, and oh, this day just kept getting better and better.

"Arthur, you're not even listening!"

"That's because I'm trying to figure out how to explain to my father that I was abducted by my personal assistant!" Arthur shouted, frantically texting Morgana in the hopes she wouldn't wind up making things worse.

Arthur was halfway done when Merlin uttered a grunt of frustration and grabbed the phone out of Arthur's hand. Arthur could only watch in helpless, numbing shock as sailed in a high arc through the air. It fell into the lake with a soft plop.

For a few seconds, it seemed even the birds and insects had all been stunned into silence.

Arthur wasn't sure there were words in the English language capable of adequately expressing his rage, so he settled for stating the bloody obvious. "You threw my _phone_ into the _lake!_"

Merlin crossed his arms defiantly. "You can get another one!"

Arthur's volume rose to impressive decibels. "No, I can't! That was an _Excalibur!_ It was the only one in existence! _And you threw it in the bloody lake!_"

Merlin failed to look suitably contrite. "Oh. Well…Now you know how the silver spotted skippers feel."

Arthur felt his lips thin and his face go red with fury. His fists balled at his sides. He twisted one hand into the collar at the back of Merlin's shirt and began unceremoniously hauling him towards the water's edge.

Merlin stumbled along under Arthur's guidance. "What? Arthur, just—What are you doing?"

"If you're so interested in communing with nature, perhaps I should hurl _you_ in the bloody lake!"

Merlin frantically dug his heels into the mud. "Wait, this isn't—Arthur, relax. This isn't going to get your phone back!"

"No, but it'll make me feel better."

At the water's edge, Arthur gave Merlin a harsh shove and watched his assistant teeter helplessly forward, arms pin-wheeling wildly. He had a moment of smug satisfaction before one of Merlin's flailing limbs caught Arthur's sleeve and they both went crashing into the freezing water.

The moment Arthur broke the surface he was already sputtering in incoherent fury. Then Merlin had the nerve to turn to him and say, "While we're in here, want to fish out your phone?"

Arthur growled and shoved Merlin's head under the water. Merlin kicked him in the shin.

By the time they dragged themselves ashore, they were both shivering and exhausted and _covered in mud and pond scum._

Arthur pulled the itchy wool blanket tighter around his shoulders as the helicopter soared almost silently over London. Arthur watched the buildings roll by, mostly to keep himself from looking at the drowned rat sulking in the seat across from him. Arthur had never known Merlin to be this quiet since the day they'd met. The fact that he wasn't speaking a word told Arthur all he needed to know about how upset Merlin was. Eventually, he heaved a sigh and said, "This really means a lot to you, doesn't it?"

Arthur could see the sarcastic remark on the tip of Merlin's tongue, but Merlin instead simply replied, "Yes," and continued to glare sullenly at the buildings below as if they'd done him some great personal injustice.

Another several moments hung heavy and silent between them, and then Arthur said, "I can't promise anything. But maybe I can look into…donating a portion of the land as a nature reserve. Or something."

Merlin's stony expression slowly melted into a smile. "I always knew there was a heart buried underneath all that Armani," Merlin said quietly.

Arthur felt his own lips turn up reluctantly. "Yes, well, you still need to do a great deal of laundry when we get home. We both smell like rotten fish."

* * *

Merlin wasn't really sure at what point their regular lunch meetings graduated to actual restaurants instead of simply hanging out in Arthur's stupidly large office, but he was fairly certain it was around the time he threatened to plan a stealth mission to replace Arthur's Polish sausage with soy sausage.

Arthur, of course, had ridiculously lavish tastes so they usually went to restaurants where patrons had to sell their first born child into indentured servitude for an entrée that would easily starve a _mouse._ Merlin complained about this mostly on principle, because the food was actually quite good.

The wait staff knew their orders by heart by now, so as soon as they were seated Arthur took the lemon from Merlin's water and squeezed it into Arthur's glass, followed quickly by his own, because for some reason Arthur enjoyed the mouth puckering sensation. He eyed Merlin over the rim of his glass and said, "Care to explain to me why I spent half the morning convincing the civil engineers that you weren't attempting a hostile takeover of their department?"

Merlin cringed around his mouthful of honeyed bread roll. He was hoping Arthur wouldn't hear about that. "They were planning to put a bloody great fountain in the middle of the lake!" He protested defensively. "Do you have any idea what that would do to the fish spawning cycle? Not to mention the water fowl population!"

Arthur's no-doubt witty rejoinder was cut short when their plates were set in front of them: the braised lamb and grilled truffles for Arthur and the chicken, tomato, and cucumber salad for Merlin. Merlin grimaced at the expected but still unwelcome meat and pushed his plate closer to Arthur's. With something like exasperated fondness, Arthur shuffled his own roll onto Merlin's plate to replace the one Merlin had already scarfed down and said, "Still, maybe you should refrain from taking your coffee with you the next time I send you down there to evaluate the project estimates."

Merlin sighed and continued loading his fork with the truffles from Arthur's plate to replace the chicken Arthur was spearing from Merlin's salad. "Look, that was not my fault. I trip over that table leg _every time_ I have to go down there, so they really should have known better than to leave their blueprints in a potentially vulnerable position. Maybe you could go down there yourself, but no, you took one look at that feng shui nightmare and now you're too afraid you'll fall and develop a debilitating injury that will put a premature end to your illustrious future fencing career, or whatever your excuse is." Unloading the truffles from his fork, Merlin looked down at his plate, ready to tuck into his salad and said, "…Chicken."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "What? I beg your—"

"No, Arthur. _Chicken._" Merlin pointed at the lump of meat with his fork.

"Oh, right." Arthur distractedly speared the slice of chicken and popped it into his own mouth, chewing thoughtfully for a moment before saying, "So I should warn the engineers you won't stop pestering them until they've removed the fountain, then?"

Merlin rolled his eyes but couldn't help the way his mouth turned up wryly at the corner. "Yeah, probably."

* * *

Merlin was dead asleep when Arthur burst into his room, shirtless and barefoot in only his pajama pants, and yanked down the covers on Merlin's bed. Merlin jerked awake, took in Arthur's state of dress and the fact that it was fucking 6:00 in the morning, and groaned into his pillow. "Oh, dear god, not another one," he moaned. "It's too early for me to be kicking out another of your trysts."

Arthur ignored him and flopped down onto Merlin's bed like a giant…floppy…thing. It was possible that Merlin's brain was not quite fully awake. "It's never too early for a man to want his own bed to himself, Merlin," Arthur said, and Merlin refrained from pointing out that Arthur certainly had no compunction about taking over _Merlin's_ bed the morning after each of his one-night stands. Though, he never took over Merlin's bed in the way that Merlin sometimes, very rarely, thought he might want. Just a little.

Merlin sighed. "At least tell me it's a man this time." Arthur's malicious glee was all the answer Merlin needed, and he stifled a groan. He had a habit of unintentionally making women burst into hysterics before they were out the door. Arthur, of course, found this hilarious.

"I made sure to wake her on my way out, so she should be dressed by the time you get there," Arthur said, and Merlin thought bitterly that Arthur had no right to sound so jovial at bloody sunrise, especially when he'd gotten laid and Merlin obviously hadn't.

"How considerate of you," Merlin mumbled. "I'm sure she'll appreciate being fully clothed when she gets tossed out on her arse." Merlin paused to allow Arthur the eyeroll Merlin knew he couldn't resist, but then a thought struck his slowly awakening brain. "Wait, didn't you call me on your date last night?" He propped himself on one elbow and stared blearily at Arthur. "You pretended to be on a business call because you were bored with this girl's conversation."

Arthur practically leered. "It wasn't her conversation I was interested in."

Merlin collapsed back into his pillow, longing for sleep. Or death. Whichever meant he didn't have to leave his bed. "I'll go if you can remember her name."

There was a pause long enough for Merlin to gather the faint hope of victory. He raised an eyebrow at Arthur, but the annoyingly sunny smirk never left his face. "You'll go because it's your job," Arthur countered.

"You know, contrary to what you may believe, I'm not actually Pepper Potts."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'd never confuse you with Pepper," Arthur snorted. "You look much better in a skirt."

"Oi!" Merlin snapped, launching his pillow at Arthur's face. The prat easily deflected it, of course. "It was _one time_, and you swore never to speak of it again!"

Arthur, now laughing and holding Merlin's pillow hostage, started _shoving_ Merlin out of his own bed. "I made no such promise. Now go," he ordered with a rather forceful kick. "And don't make this girl cry like you did the last one!"

Merlin grumbled as he stood, and he glanced back just in time to see a half-naked Arthur roll into the warm spot Merlin had just vacated and bury his face in Merlin's pillow with a satisfied sigh. Merlin knew from experience that by the time Merlin returned, Arthur would be asleep, his golden, toned skin glowing in the light of sunrise, his limbs sprawled out over the sheets as if he were as comfortable in Merlin's bed as he was in his own. Merlin wondered what he could have possibly done in a past life that would earn him this kind of punishment.

There were good parts to the job and bad parts, and then there were parts that made Merlin feel like a ten pound lead weight had just been dropped on his chest. Getting to look and never, ever touch…that was definitely one of the worst parts.

* * *

They were arguing over yet another horrid tofu creation when Merlin's arse started playing the theme song to Doctor Who.

"Gwen!" Merlin answered the phone, triumph already in his voice. "Back me up, here. Arthur says—" Merlin abruptly came to a halt, standing frozen with the phone to his ear, the wide smile slowly melting from his face. Without conscious thought, Arthur rose from the table and was halfway to Merlin's side when Merlin waved him off. Merlin smiled again, though it looked decidedly different from his smile of a moment before. This one looked forced, and a touch brittle.

"That's…That's really great, Gwen. Congratulations. To you both." Merlin turned his back on Arthur and continued quietly, "No, no, I'm fine. And of course I'll be there. It's just…I'm a little shocked, I guess. Three months is coming up awfully fast." Merlin ran a hand through his hair and Arthur saw his shoulders sag a little. "Right, I do know how badly you always wanted a summer wedding." Merlin sighed, and even without looking at his face, Arthur could tell he was wearing a rueful smile. "Listen, Gwen, I'm really happy for you. Give Lance a hug for me, and I'll take you both out tomorrow to celebrate. Yes. Right. See you then." Slowly, Merlin clicked the phone shut, and there was a moment of heavy, awful silence before Merlin turned, watery smile not at all convincing as he announced with a pathetic attempt at his usual level of enthusiasm, "My best friends are getting married!"

Their eyes held for a moment, but then Arthur had to look away from what he saw there. "Right then," he said flatly. "Guess this calls for a celebration." He headed to the cabinet and pulled out the bottle of Scotch he'd been saving for a special occasion. He took out a couple of tumblers and poured three fingers into each glass. He didn't miss the grim set of Merlin's mouth as he handed over one of the glasses and said, very sensibly, "Let's get drunk."

Half an hour and only a fifth of Scotch later, they were sitting up on the roof facing Merlin's shabby garden, the cold concrete wall at their backs a stark contrast to the heavy warmth of Merlin's head on Arthur's shoulder. The uncharacteristic moroseness had vanished from Merlin's face as soon as the alcohol took hold. He had given up his cheerful pretense and settled into explaining his view of the situation with the same kind of indignant, insubordinate tone he used when pointing out the many and varied ways he believed Arthur was being a stubborn arse. It was surprisingly comforting.

"I really am happy for her…him…both of them. I _am_," he slurred as if Arthur had been protesting his words. "And alright, maybe there was that whole awkward situation where Gwen had a crush on me and I had a crush on Lancelot, but that was ages ago! We're over that. They're my mates—of course I want them to be happy! It's just…It's not fair! I deserve a wedding too, dammit!"

Arthur practically choked on his Scotch. He raised an incredulous eyebrow, mind reeling at the thought of Merlin in a white dress and veil. "Don't worry, Merlin, I'm sure you'll make someone a lovely wife someday. As long as your husband doesn't expect any decent cooking or cleaning out of you that is."

Merlin spared him a drunken glare before barreling on, working himself up to a good rant. "I think I've suffered enough in my life," and here he made a very demonstrative wave of his half-empty glass in Arthur's vague direction, but continued on before Arthur could properly chastise him. "Karma owes me a hell of a lot, by now! I'm not asking for Prince Charming, or anything. Just somebody who's nice, and generous, and clever, and has a great sense of humor, and has all the same ideals, and is a good listener, and brings me soup when I'm sick, and brings me flowers for no reason, and kisses well, and looks good naked…although, that last one's really more of a bonus than a requirement."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Right. Clearly, you're not asking for much."

"And okay, so I'm not rich and gorgeous or anything," another vague gesture in Arthur's direction, and this time Arthur felt his chest puff up, just a little. "But it's not like I'm a horrible catch!" Merlin continued, outraged. "I've got these ears, but I'm not grotesque, or anything. And I'm actually quite good in bed." Arthur choked again, and then decided it would be much safer just to set the glass aside for now. "Not that I get much chance to practice. The last time I had sex was…" Merlin nearly went cross-eyed trying to drunkenly count on his fingers, "_God_, it was eight months ago, when I started this job. You remember Owain from marketing? You can ask him. He'll say I'm good."

Arthur scowled. Now he really _was_ going to fire that man. "Hmm. Maybe you should get _Owain_ to write an advertising campaign for your 'skills.'" Arthur's tone was not the slightest bit peevish. Really.

Merlin snorted then asserted with all the enthusiastic earnestness of the very, very drunk, "If I did, then I'd have men lined up around the block for me. I can do things with my tongue that would make your eyes roll back in your head." Arthur swallowed and tried incredibly hard to shake the sudden images that sprang to his mind. "Seriously, everyone would want me. _You'd_ even want me, if you weren't such a prat." And alright, Merlin had clearly entered the delusional state of his inebriation. Because while Arthur could admit that there was a certain kind of idiotic charm about Merlin that some might appreciate, he was still _Merlin,_ the worst assistant Arthur had ever had, and Arthur definitely did not want to bed the man, no matter how curious he was about the things Merlin could do with his tongue.

And Arthur probably should have said at least some of that aloud, instead of staring dumbly down and ostensibly contemplating Merlin's rather soft-looking hair, because at Arthur's prolonged silence Merlin's head came up off Arthur's shoulder. He turned to fix Arthur with an inquisitive stare, head cocked and eyes glazed with alcohol. Arthur could practically hear the gears in Merlin's head fuzzily grinding through the alcoholic sludge of his brain before they abruptly came to a halt. "Oh," Merlin said. Then he grabbed Arthur's head and pulled him into a horribly sloppy, messy kiss.

Arthur froze, dumbfounded. The kiss lasted all of two seconds before Merlin's mouth slid away and he slumped against Arthur's shoulder, passed out from only two and a half glasses of Scotch. By the time Arthur recovered from the shock, Merlin was snoring softly against his chest, and Arthur was steadfastly ignoring the way the breeze felt intolerably cold against the lingering warmth of his lips. He needed to haul Merlin inside before they both caught a chill, and he needed to unwrap his arms from his assistant's shoulders, and he needed to pray that in the morning, Merlin wouldn't remember a thing.

[Part 3](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/19540.html#cutid1)

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	3. Two Weeks Notice (3/5)

  
  
  
  
  


**Entry tags:**

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[fandom: merlin](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fandom%3A%20merlin), [fic: two weeks notice](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fic%3A%20two%20weeks%20notice), [genre: angst](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20angst), [genre: au](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20au), [genre: drama](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20drama), [genre: fluff](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20fluff), [genre: humor](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20humor), [genre: prompt/challenge response](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20prompt%2Fchallenge%20response), [genre: romance](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20romance), [pairing: merlin/arthur](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/pairing%3A%20merlin%2Farthur), [rating: nc-17](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/rating%3A%20nc-17)  
  
  
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Merlin very gingerly lifted the steaming mug of coffee to his lips. He found that the less he moved, the less likely it would be that the army of angry rhinoceroses in his skull resumed their assault on his brain.

"_Merlin!_" Arthur shouted from inside his office, and Merlin jumped, sending half his coffee down the front of his shirt. The rhinoceros in his right temple snorted disgruntledly.

"God, what now?" Merlin muttered, half-heartedly scrubbing at the stain on his shirt. Arthur was being worse than usual today. Merlin knew enough about Arthur to know that he typically reserved this particular level of pratliness for times when he had especially difficult meetings with his father or for that one time that he'd been unable to avoid the run in with Sophia from accounting. In any case, Merlin knew that Arthur tended to deal with unwanted emotional stress by making everyone around him just as miserable as he was. Merlin was used to suffering Arthur's occasional tantrums, but his current raging hangover had severely shortened his patience. It was made even worse by the fact that Merlin had caught Arthur staring at him several times earlier that day, eyeing him with a level of scrutiny that suggested he was calculating the exact moment he expected Merlin to keel over atop his desk. Odder still was the fact that whenever Arthur deigned to speak to Merlin, he refused to look Merlin in the eyes.

And to top it off, Merlin _still_ hadn't found time to have his morning coffee!

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted again. "I'm not paying you to sit around on your skinny arse! If I have to call you again, I'm taking it out of your pay!"

Merlin groaned and shuffled his way into Arthur's office, mug cradled protectively between his palms like a security blanket. Or a shield. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

Arthur threw him another of those looks that seemed to scream _I'm not looking_ and Merlin restrained the urge to beat him about the head with his own stapler and tell him to stop being so bloody cryptic already. It wasn't like Arthur not to tell Merlin what was bothering him, even if what was bothering him happened to _be_ Merlin. Actually, on those occasions he seemed _especially eager_ to let Merlin know about it.

"The company gathering is coming up next month, so you'll be helping Morgana to plan it this year. I'll have her forward the first list of tasks for you to complete by the end of the week. I also need you to pick up my new suit from the tailor's and there's a stack of files in my inbox that need to be copied. And for god's sake, do _try_ not to injure yourself _or_ the copy machine this time." The brief pause in Arthur's rapid-fire list of tasks was the only hint that Merlin wouldn't like what he had to say next. "And I won't be able to make it to lunch today."

Merlin's head snapped up in surprise. Arthur hadn't missed a lunch meeting since…well, since they'd started having lunch together, during Merlin's second week as Arthur's assistant. Merlin felt his brows knit together in concern as he asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Of course everything's alright," Arthur snapped, exasperated, but he still refused to look directly at Merlin. He rummaged through the files spread out on his desk and said, "Believe it or not, I _do_ have more important things to do than babysit you during our lunch hour. You'll just have to survive without me for a few days."

Merlin cast a narrow-eyed glare at the side of Arthur's face. "However will I manage?" he replied flatly. He left without waiting for Arthur's dismissal, squaring his shoulders as he took the stack of files and prepared to do battle with his arch nemesis, the copy machine.

Merlin knew whatever was bothering Arthur had to be something more upsetting than usual, but he tried not to worry about it for now. He had learnt early on that Arthur's temper burned hot, but it burned fast, and he'd best let him have his snit and work it out of his system. It might take a day or two, but eventually things would get back to normal.

_   
**Two Weeks Notice (3/5)**   
_

* * *

The venue for this year's company gathering was Morgana's idea. Arthur should have known it would be a disaster the moment he sent Merlin over with his list of suggestions and she replied, "Not _another banquet_, Arthur. All we ever do is host banquets. If I ever see another roast pheasant I can't be held accountable for my actions."

So, instead, she had come up with the _brilliant_ plan that they have the company gathering at the Isle of Avalon, a video arcade for grown ass men and women who felt that behaving like twelve year old hooligans on a sugar rush was acceptable public behaviour.

Arthur promptly blamed Merlin.

Arthur's juvenile delinquent of an assistant was currently across the crowded arcade, inexplicably beating Gawaine's arse at Wii Boxing and having a bloody fantastic time if Arthur were to judge by the bouts of enthusiastic flailing going on. Arthur hated the fact that he could pick out Merlin's laughter ringing through the casino-like noise as if he was standing right next to him.

Despite the fact that Merlin had clearly not remembered That Night, Arthur had decided that it would be better to create a bit of professional distance between them. He wasn't sure if That Night was simply an alcohol-and-loneliness induced mistake or if Merlin had somehow developed…_feelings._ Either way, Arthur knew enough about Merlin to know that even if he did want a tumble with his assistant (which he _did not_), he wouldn't be able to keep it casual, because Merlin didn't do anything casual. Everything with Merlin was one extreme or the other.

Arthur wasn't opposed to the occasional drunken fumble with a co-worker, but he knew from experience that office relationships were doomed to crash and burn in a truly spectacular fashion. He'd learned the hard way with Sophia.

In any case, Arthur was willing to take responsibility for having let this thing with Merlin go too far. He'd allowed Morgana to goad him with advice on "bonding" and the next thing he knew, he was offering to save ugly brown butterflies from starvation and affectionately teasing Merlin about his bleary eyed, zombie-like demands for morning coffee. If he'd maintained the proper Boss-Assistant relationship, he wouldn't be in this predicament. The only solution was to pull back to a respectable distance.

What Arthur hadn't counted on, however, was how difficult it would be. He'd gotten used to having Merlin around. He never realized how often he'd felt Merlin's constant presence until suddenly, he was actively seeking reasons to stay away. He never realized how often his eyes sought Merlin out in a crowd until he was forcing his feet not to carry him across the room towards his assistant, meaning he was stuck here trying very hard to ignore the way he felt a little off balance without Merlin at his side.

Arthur watched as Merlin did a completely ridiculous little victory dance and clapped Gawaine on the back, who promptly stepped aside to let Galahad battle the champion. Arthur quietly stomped on the urge to go over there and challenge Merlin to a game of Wii Fencing just to wipe that idiotic grin off his face. Merlin was really terrible with a sword. Even if the sword was technically imaginary.

Trying to distract his attention from the spectacle his assistant was making of himself, Arthur pulled out his new mobile and attempted to get an update on the market forecasts. Word that Mercia Incorporated was courting merger deals with several companies had yet to hit the press, but Arthur knew that once it did the market would go haywire, and he wanted to stay on top of any changes. However, once Arthur tried to log on to his phone, the screen gave a strange sort of flash and blacked out. Arthur cursed his luck.

Arthur's new phone was an incredibly expensive but untested prototype, and as such, some of the more obnoxious bugs had yet to be worked out. It was so new it didn't even have a model name, but Arthur had taken to calling it The Merlin due to its stubborn refusal to do what Arthur wanted most of the time.

He was jabbing angrily at the buttons when he heard a familiar and _entirely unwelcome_ voice call out with a cheerful, "Hello, Pratdragon."

Arthur turned and glowered, offering the only greeting he felt appropriate given the circumstances. "Will, what the hell are you doing here? This is a private party for employees of the Pendragon Corporation."

Will's grin was entirely too self satisfied for Arthur's comfort. His suspicions that Will was up to something were confirmed when Will replied, "Bayard invited me." Arthur steadfastly didn't scowl further. Arthur had invited Bayard to the company gathering in hopes that it would foster a relationship between Mercia Incorporated and the Pendragon Corporation. Will's company, Ealdor Enterprises, was one of the companies being courted by Mercia Incorporated for merger deals alongside the Pendragon Corporation."Apparently, Bayard appreciated my suggestion that a little direct competition could open his eyes about what kind of people he's considering handing his company over to."

Arthur felt his jaw clench. Will's company was still small, but it had shown impressive growth, and with Will fighting dirty there was the possibility that Bayard could be swayed, especially if Will tried to play up the "morality" angle. Will had founded Ealdor Enterprises on a platform of ethical business practices when Will's father had been forced to take the fall for Enron-like levels of corporate corruption. It hadn't had anything to do with the Pendragon Corporation, of course, but that didn't stop Will from lumping all companies—besides his own—together as selfish and immoral. Arthur resented it. Maybe some of father's business decisions had been questionable, but they were always motivated by looking out for the company and its employees, and Arthur loathed the implication that he personally was anything but honourable in his business decisions. Naturally, he and Will had hated each other from the moment they met.

"So tell me," Will said, voice dripping with smarmy sarcasm, "what does a soul go for these days at the Pendragon Corporation? I'm sure Bayard is dying to know."

At that moment, Arthur was sorely tempted to kill two _very annoying_ birds with one stone and shove his misbehaving phone down Will's throat. Then, just when Arthur was sure his night couldn't get any worse, he caught sight of his assistant rushing up to them, and he groaned. "Arthur!" Merlin called, cheeks flushed pink with childish excitement (and probably more than a little alcohol from the open bar) and hair a complete and utter _disaster._ "Arthur, there's this game, you've got to try it! You stick your head in this thing, and it's got handles, and you spin around, and it's like you're in this machine gun turret and you shoot down enemy bombers and they _explode right in front of your face_ and—"

Arthur couldn't quite stamp out the hint of fond exasperation in his tone as he said, "You do realize you're not _actually_ twelve years old, right? And aren't you a pacifist?"

Merlin froze in the middle of a rather interesting contortion of limbs that Arthur assumed was meant to demonstrate the contraption's workings. He blinked once, then said in a pout no grown man should have been able to pull off, "It wouldn't kill you to have some fun once in a while."

"Your new boy toy is right, Pratdragon. It might do you good to pull that bloody great stick from up your arse, before it has to be surgically removed."

Merlin suddenly turned towards Will as if just now noticing there was a third party to the conversation. He looked between Arthur and Will with a warily raised eyebrow, and Arthur sighed. He supposed introductions really couldn't be avoided. "Will, this is Merlin, my incompetent assistant. Merlin, this is Will, my mortal enemy."

Will rolled his eyes and offered Merlin a handshake in greeting. "Keyword being 'mortal.' I at least hope he pays you well to do all the jobs us mere mortals have to do for ourselves. Although if not, I suppose the _benefits_ make up for it."

Arthur choked on his drink and Merlin sputtered like an outboard motor. Arthur wondered if it was too late to warn Merlin about Will's tendency to rile people up by stating whatever outlandish and inflammatory things fell out of his otherwise useless brain. "What?" Merlin finally managed, and Arthur doubted the flush in his cheeks was still due to the alcohol. "I don't—I've never—It's not like _that!_"

When Arthur recovered enough from his choking fit, he added, "You think I—with _Merlin?_ Have you gone _completely mental?_"

Will shrugged. "Never figured you to be the discriminating kind."

Arthur may have had some _very_ fuzzy memories of a _very_ drunk night when they'd first met back at Oxford involving some possible groping, followed by a surprisingly solid fist connecting painfully with his jaw, but he's tried very hard never to dig too deep into the events of that particular night. Clearing his throat, Arthur replied haughtily, "I learned from my first mistake with an idiotic dolt with more ideals than brains. I don't plan to make it again."

After a beat of stony, infuriating silence, Will turned his attention to Merlin and asked deadpan, "So honestly, you're just withholding sex until you get your raise, then?"

Merlin, Arthur was surprised to see, looked furious enough to murder an entire litter of kittens. "Right now, there's not enough money _in the world_ for me to get on my knees for _either one_ of you bastards." With that, he stomped off towards the bar. Arthur was more than half tempted to go after him, either to steer Merlin clear of any further alcohol consumption because the man was a horrid lightweight, or to figure out what the bloody hell Merlin was so upset about. But that would have defeated the purpose of keeping his professional distance, so he simply clenched his jaw and rooted himself to the spot.

At Arthur's side, Will said cheerily, "I like him. You haven't managed to kill his soul yet." He continued to watch Merlin stalk away through the crowd with a thoughtful look on his face. "Fantastic arse, too. I can see why you hired him."

Arthur's jaw was clenched so tightly he swore his teeth were moments away from shattering as he ground out, "Bugger off, Will. Before I have security throw you out."

Arthur decided the best method of distraction for the rest of the night would be to actually do his job and woo Bayard with a mixture of entertainment and shoptalk. Bayard seemed fairly amenable all evening, though that might have been due more to the steady flow of free alcohol than the way Arthur kept slyly pointing out the benefits of a future merger.

Arthur was steadfastly focused on performing his duty for the company when Morgana sidled up beside him with a smile that belied the nervous tension in her eyes. She lowered her voice to a level only Arthur could hear and said, "We've got a bit of a situation."

There could be only one 'situation' Morgana would come to warn him about, and Arthur was painfully aware that he hadn't spotted Merlin anywhere in at least the last hour. Not that he'd been looking for him, or anything. Arthur manfully refrained from rolling his eyes and pitched his voice to match Morgana's, "Dear god, what's he gotten himself into now?"

Morgana's eyes flicked silently across the room, and Arthur turned to follow her gaze. He easily identified Merlin playing some dancing game with another figure that Arthur couldn't quite make out in the dim orange glow let off by the arcade games. He was stomping and hopping about and flapping his arms like some sort of deranged attempt at flight, but other than that he looked fine. Arthur didn't know what kind of situation Morgana could have meant. If she wanted Arthur to rush over and save Merlin from making a complete fool of himself in public, she clearly didn't understand that things like this were a near-daily occurrence as far as Merlin was concerned.

Arthur considered telling Morgana to sod off and let Merlin make a spectacle of himself in peace, but then he saw Merlin pull some sort of difficult-looking move that sent him tipping backwards and nearly off the podium. The figure at Merlin's side shot out a hand and caught onto the small of Merlin's back, steadying him. Arthur's brief flash of relief for Merlin's safety was overshadowed by the sudden, violent urge to rip the man's arm from its socket. Then the figure turned and Arthur caught a glimpse of Will's profile, smiling at Merlin and _not removing his bloody hand_, and Arthur's rage level went from 'dismember' to 'kill.'

He excused himself from Bayard's side, citing urgent company business, and then stomped across the room to deal with whatever the hell Will thought he was trying to pull.

As Arthur drew closer, it became blindingly apparent that Merlin was far too drunk to even stand upright, let alone wobble around on some dancing game's footpads like a large, gangly bird having a stroke. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Arthur!" Merlin exclaimed, apparently delighted to see him despite the fact that only an hour ago he'd stormed away from Arthur in a huff.

Arthur put his hands on his hips and felt disturbingly like a put upon parent. "Merlin, come down from there. I'm taking you home."

Will sneered. "He's not your dog. You can't order him around and expect him to obey."

"You keep your fat head out of this," Arthur warned.

Merlin leaned over the railing and slurred in a very serious tone of voice, "Arthur, you shouldn't be so hard on Will. He's not as bad as he seems at first. Kind of like you, actually."

While Arthur tried to figure out if that was a compliment or an insult—or a bit of both—the next round of the game started. Merlin gave a whoop of joy and was just about to once again start hopping about on the footpads like a jumping bean dropped in a bottle of tequila when Arthur decided he'd had enough. He reached out to grab Merlin's wrist, but he apparently had underestimated the level of uncoordination that even Merlin could achieve. Merlin spun in a wobbly arc, twisting his feet beneath him and promptly toppling off the podium and into Arthur's arms.

Merlin just hung there for a moment, looking as if he was vaguely trying to determine which way was up, but Arthur's brain was too stunned to move past the thought of _Merlin in his arms_. It should have been an incredibly awkward position—and it was—but it was also rather…pleasant. Arthur could feel the hot flush of Merlin's skin underneath the crisp cotton of his shirt. He was surprised by how far his arms were able to wrap around Merlin's scrawny chest. He pressed his hands down a little harder and counted the ribs under his palms, silently wondering if Merlin was somehow managing to starve himself with his ridiculous vegan diet. Merlin's face was only centimetres away, and Arthur watched as Merlin's eyes cleared and his lips pursed slightly into a confused frown. Merlin's hands tightened marginally on Arthur's shoulders, his thumbs tucked snugly under the fold of Arthur's collar. "Arthur, what—?"

Arthur released him abruptly and stepped back, and though he didn't exactly _mean_ to shove Merlin away, he watched as Merlin stumbled backwards into Morgana and was barely saved from toppling to the floor by Morgana's scarily fast one-handed grip. Arthur couldn't quite bring himself to feel bad about this resulting in half of the Cosmo in Morgana's other hand spilling onto her new shoes, despite the livid glare she shot his way.

Disdainfully smoothing out invisible wrinkles from where he'd had Merlin pressed up against his chest, Arthur mocked, "I know coordination's not one of your strong suits, but really, do you have _any_ natural talents?"

Merlin righted himself with more than a little help from Morgana and a bright flush rose to his cheeks. "Let's see…I'm not naturally _rude or insensitive._"

"So that's a no then," Arthur deadpanned.

"I have talents!" Merlin protested hotly. "I can…I can tie a cherry stem with my tongue!" He promptly grabbed the cherry from Morgana's drink and popped it into his mouth, presumably to demonstrate. Arthur belatedly remembered where a discussion of Merlin's _talents_ had led them last time and decided he needed to get Merlin out of here before things got out of hand.

Grabbing Merlin's arm in a bruising grip, he began hauling him towards the doors. "Okay, that's it, we're leaving."

"You really are a bloody caveman, aren't you? I may have always figured you for an arrogant arse, but I never figured you for being the type to drag off someone too drunk to say no."

Arthur cast an incredulous look over his shoulder, because what the hell was Will on about? Did Will think he was actually _defending Merlin's honor_? "Go back to your game, Will. Maybe this time try to find a little less hapless partner."

"Do you think you could do better?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow, because surely Will wasn't serious. It was a game designed for _preteen girls_. "I know I could."

Will's response didn't miss a beat. "Prove it."

Arthur didn't even notice the crowd that had gathered until they all seemed to settle into a shocked hush. No one, _no one_ issued a challenge to Arthur Pendragon unless they had some kind of foolhardy death wish.

Arthur narrowed his eyes, then propped Merlin up against the Mrs. Pacman and stepped onto the small podium. The hush of the crowd immediately erupted into excited chatter. "Bring it on, you sodding git."

Will's smile was unbearably smug. "Brave words, Pratdragon. Have you ever even done this before?"

Arthur's condescension was scathing. "Believe it or not, some of us have more important things to do with our lives than sit around playing a child's game."

It shouldn't have been possible, but Will's smile actually got wider. "Right, then. We'll start you out on something easy first."

Merlin was playing at the standard level, so Arthur grudgingly agreed to keep it set the same. "Prepare to have your arse served to you on a silver platter," Arthur said, and then they began.

The whole thing was ridiculously easy. The steps were fairly repetitive and predictable, and given that Arthur had taken a lifetime of private fencing classes, he took to the rhythm of the music the same as he took to the rhythm of the thrust and parry. The only times he faltered were whenever he looked over to check Will's score, which usually resulted in a missed step, sometimes two. For the most part, however, Arthur had to refrain from rolling his eyes at the simplicity of it all. Then the final scores were plastered across their respective screens, and Arthur's jaw hit the floor along with everyone else in the crowd. "I _lost?!_"

"The game doesn't lie," Will said, clapping him genially on the shoulder. "I hope you like the taste of failure, Pratdragon. You'd best get used to it. Now, if you'll excuse me…" He trailed off and flicked a glance over Arthur's shoulder. Arthur turned to see Merlin still sulking where Arthur had left him. When Arthur turned back, Will was eyeing Merlin like the prize in one of those claw machines just before it dropped down the chute and into his waiting hands.

Arthur was overwhelmed with the sudden desire to punch Will's weaselly face in and shout, "Stay the hell away from him!" When Will moved to step off the podium, Arthur settled for crushing Will's bicep in his grip and growling, "That was just a practice. Let's do this for real this time."

Will winced a little at Arthur's fingers digging into his arm, but his grin stayed plastered to his face as he said, "I'd love to wipe the floor with you again, but—"

"You won't," Arthur said, deadly serious. Now that he knew the stakes, he wouldn't lose. He may not want Merlin for himself, but he'd be damned if he'd let this smarmy bastard get his grubby mitts all over him. Arthur grinned, baring his teeth. "Winner takes all."

Will's resolve visibly faltered. Arthur's grip tightened. If Will backed out now, he was a coward, and Arthur would lose what little grudging respect he had for Will as a businessman. After a moment, Will jutted out his chin in what Arthur supposed was meant to be his game face and said, "Alright. You're on."

They started by resetting the levels. Arthur upped his level to "Difficult." Will scowled and matched him. Arthur hesitated a moment, then raised his eyebrow in challenge and moved up to "Maniac." Will's foot hovered over the controls for a heavy moment while the crowd held its collective breath, then it settled back at his side. The crowd let out a collective sigh, either of relief or disappointment, Arthur couldn't tell. He was too busy smiling thinly at his preliminary victory.

This time, Arthur was ready. He never let his eyes leave his own screen. The steps started out easy enough, but after a few seconds, Arthur became aware that it was only just a warm up. Arthur had always excelled at footwork in his fencing classes, but this was something else entirely. A sparring partner usually needed to stop and rest every so often, if only for a moment. But Arthur's feet flew over the control pads in a constant flurry of motion as he battled the game, the steps so convoluted he found himself contorting in all sorts of strange ways as he tried to keep up. His hands cut through the air as he desperately fought to keep his balance, and he suddenly had a greater understanding for the deranged flapping he'd witnessed from Merlin earlier. He felt a thin layer of sweat soak into the hair around his face and into the collar of his shirt. The crowd let out occasional cheers or shouts at the more difficult manoeuvers, but he remained focused and watched his scores climb. Will _could not win_. Arthur refused to accept the possibility. The image of Will's hand on the small of Merlin's back and Merlin's besotted smile flashed through his mind, and Arthur growled and attacked the footpads with increasing ferocity.

It was almost a shock when the song ended and Arthur's feet stuttered to a halt. His knees felt a bit wobbly and he grabbed onto the handrail at the side for support. Then the screen flashed out the results, declaring Arthur the unequivocal champion, and he couldn't help the victorious shout. He turned towards Will, fully prepared to gloat, only to find that Will had somehow disappeared.

Arthur thought for a moment that he would have to re-evaluate his assessment of Will's cowardice, but when he turned towards where he'd left Merlin waiting for him, he saw that Merlin was gone too. Arthur immediately suspected foul play. He shot a look over the crowd's heads and instantly recognized the unruly mop weaving its way through the mob, supported by Will at his side like some conquering hero. Arthur saw red.

He brushed past Morgana and the rest of the crowd virtually parted before him like the Red Sea, falling over each other to get out of his path. "You coward!" Arthur shouted, hauling Will around by the scruff of his neck.

Will replied with more than a little frustration and sarcasm as he said, "Well, you looked like you were having such a good time, I didn't want to spoil it by wiping the floor with your pompous arse again."

Arthur didn't loosen his grip. "Admit it. I was winning, and you chickened out."

Will scoffed indignantly. "You weren't winning!"

"Yes I was! Merlin, you were watching. Back me up, tell him I was winning."

Merlin, however, seemed quite content to stare at them vacantly and chew on the inside of his cheek.

"_Merlin._"

Will gave him a strange look. "He seems a little busy right now, actually."

Arthur's temper was reaching heretofore uncharted levels. "Busy? What're you—"

But at that moment, Merlin reached up and pulled the cherry stem from his mouth, holding it out proudly. "See? Told you I could do it."

Arthur was fully prepared to let loose some of his encroaching rage, but then he got a good look and all his anger dissolved in the face of sheer, dumbfounded awe. "Is that a _double knot?_ How could you manage that? You can barely stand up right now!"

Merlin just grinned beatifically. "I'm magic!"

Will's voice was even more amazed than Arthur's. "That's…really impressive, actually."

A deaf, dumb, and blind man could have caught the speculative gleam in Will's eyes, but because this was _Merlin_, he simply increased the wattage of his smile and replied with an earnest, "Thanks."

Arthur grabbed hold of Merlin's arm and unceremoniously began dragging him away towards the exit.

* * *

By the time the lift doors opened to the top floor, Arthur had Merlin over his shoulder because the bloody idiot had apparently lost all ability to stand under his own power. Morgana, who had joined them after the fiasco in the arcade, went ahead of them and opened doors, while a semi-conscious Merlin mumbled what Arthur gathered were disparaging comments about Merlin's view of Arthur's arse. Arthur was just grateful they made it to Merlin's bedroom without Merlin puking spectacularly down Arthur's back.

Arthur flopped Merlin down on top of the mattress with a bit more force than was advisable for someone in Merlin's state, but he refused to feel guilty about that. He sat at the foot of the bed and began removing Merlin's shoes with very little finesse, grumbling angrily, "Considering you're _my_ assistant, I spend an awful lot of time taking care of _your_ drunken arse." Merlin didn't respond, however, as he was already well on his way to being passed out.

Morgana's voice was deceptively light as she asked, "Do you think we should change his clothes?" Arthur paused with Merlin's left shoe half removed and turned to find his stepsister giving Merlin a frankly assessing gaze. Catching Arthur's look, she shrugged and said blandly, "It was only a suggestion."

Arthur rolled his eyes and went back to removing Merlin's recalcitrant footwear. "If you want to make yourself useful, go fetch a glass of water and some Paracetamol for the morning. I have a feeling he'll need it."

Once Arthur had dropped Merlin's right shoe alongside its mate on the floor, he looked up to see Merlin watching him with bleary, glazed eyes. The calculating look on his face reminded Arthur far too much of the way he'd looked at Arthur just before the ill-advised kiss. Arthur cleared his throat and stood, grabbing a blanket from the closet, but he could feel Merlin's gaze like a warm touch on the back of his neck. "Arthur, what's wrong with me?" Merlin slurred quietly.

"At present, large quantities of alcohol." Arthur unfurled the blanket and draped it over Merlin's prone form, tucking it in around his shoulders and trying desperately not to meet Merlin's eyes or realize how the action brought their faces closer together. Then Merlin reached out and wrapped long, fumbling fingers around Arthur's wrist, and that plan was shot all to hell.

Merlin's eyes were glassy and earnest, his hair curled messily around his face and shining with the pale light filtering in through the window. Arthur thought, for a brief moment, that he could see what everyone else saw when they looked at Merlin and got those ridiculously soppy looks on their faces. "No, I mean…why don't you like me anymore?" Arthur froze, face close enough to see the watery moonlight reflected in Merlin's half-lidded eyes and Merlin's loose grip holding him in place. He felt like he'd been kicked in the chest.

Morgana, of course, chose that very moment to come back into the room. From her position framed in the doorway, she glanced between Arthur and Merlin with her ever-discerning gaze and an odd mixture of frustration and pity flickered across her face. She very clearly wanted to say whatever was on her mind, but in an uncharacteristic display of discretion, she instead set the water and tablets on the nightstand before quietly exiting the room.

Arthur swallowed thickly. Merlin really had it all wrong, as usual. The problem wasn't that Arthur had stopped liking Merlin. It was that Arthur was just beginning to suspect that he might possibly like Merlin _too much._

"Go to sleep, Merlin," Arthur replied brusquely, easily extricating his arm from Merlin's grasp. Merlin's eyes were already drifting shut as Arthur spoke, and by the time Arthur turned to close the door behind him, Arthur caught a glimpse of Merlin comfortably starfished across the giant mattress before the door quietly clicked shut.

He leaned his forehead against the door for a half-second, just long enough to heave a sigh, before he turned away and found Morgana lurking at the end of the hallway, a curious expression on her face. "If you're afraid of Merlin leaving you, then pushing him away isn't exactly the best solution."

Arthur's spine stiffened. "Don't be absurd, Morgana. You've been at those harlequin novels of yours again, haven't you?"

He tried to brush past her, but she clamped a surprisingly strong hand on his arm. She looked up at him with the strange gleam in her eyes that made Arthur feel like she was seeing far more than she was letting on and said, "You can't protect yourself forever Arthur. It won't go away, no matter how deeply you bury it."

Arthur pulled free of Morgana's grip and strode angrily towards his own room. "For once in your life, Morgana, mind your own business," he snapped furiously. "And you can let yourself out."

* * *

When Merlin heard about losing the Mercia merger to Will's company, he knew Arthur would be thrashing around the office like a wounded bear. Merlin treaded lightly for most of the day, but when the sweet intern who left vegan brownies on Merlin's desk for his birthday ran out of Arthur's office in near hysterics, he decided he'd let it go on long enough. Stepping into Arthur's office, Merlin glared and said, "Is it _physically impossible_ for you to act like a decent human being?"

Arthur met his glare head-on and dialed his own a few notches higher. "You can't talk to me like that. I'm your _superior,_ and you'd do well to remember that."

Merlin threw his hands up in bewildered frustration. "I've always talked to you like this! It's never bothered you before."

"Yes, well, that was clearly a mistake," Arthur replied in his haughtiest tone. "I've been far too lenient with you. If I hadn't been so worried about you making a fool of yourself I wouldn't have been forced to leave Bayard in order to make sure you didn't drown yourself in alcohol."

It took several shocked moments for Arthur's words to percolate. "Wait, are you trying to blame this on _me?_"

The look on Arthur's face could have lit kindling. "Considering I don't recall having to haul anyone else's drunken arse up thirty floors, then yes, I'd say that means I'm talking about you." If it had been anybody but Arthur, Merlin would have recoiled from the genuine, startling anger he saw in Arthur's eyes. "Maybe next time I'll just let your new best friend _Will_ deal with you."

Merlin felt his face contort in disbelief. It was true, Merlin and Will had gotten on surprisingly well despite their rocky introduction, but once Will had apologized and Merlin had opened up about his volunteer work, Will had seemed suitably impressed. If Merlin had eaten up the sparse praise like candy, it was only because he'd been suffering from its very persistent _lack_ for quite some time. "Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea," Merlin replied, tone deceptively calm. "It would be nice to hang out with someone who thinks I'm good for something besides polishing his bloody boots!"

Arthur's jaw clenched. "You're forbidden to associate with that git. I won't have my assistant betraying the company by aligning himself with the company's enemies!"

"Wait, so now you're going to start telling me who I _can_ and _can't_ be friends with?"

Arthur looked on the verge of shouting something else, but then he simply turned to the files on his desk and said flatly, "Get out of here, Merlin. Some of us have actual work to do today."

"Arthur—"

"I said get out of my sight!"

Merlin choked back the words threatening to burst out of his mouth and turned, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

"You don't understand, Gwen. He's intolerable! And he's actually getting _worse!_"

"Oh, come on, Merlin. He can't be as bad as all that. He agreed to keep some land undeveloped on the shopping centre project, didn't he?" she said, her voice muffled behind the fitting room door.

"Well, yes. But only after he _threw me in the lake_. And that's not even the point. The point is that he's being an even worse arse than usual, and I've no idea why. It's all I can do every day not to stab him in the eye with my pen!"

"I think you like him, really," she said, then added darkly, just barely loud enough for Merlin to hear, "Even if you do complain about him _constantly_."

"I do _not_ like him!" Merlin countered vehemently. "And if I complain about him, it's only because he's the most annoying, arrogant, selfish _pratface_ to ever walk the Earth."

Gwen's voice singsonged melodiously through the door, "Methinks you doth protest too much."

Merlin hoped Gwen could feel the power of his glare even through the door. "You know, you've been insufferably cheerful ever since you got engaged." If his comment came out a little sharper than he intended, he doubted Gwen noticed.

"Look, Merlin, maybe…maybe you just need to be patient," she continued, her voice gentle. "He'll come around, in time."

Merlin felt his mouth twist in distaste. "Gwen, I don't…" His voice trailed off, unable to actually say the words _I don't have a giant crush on my priggish arse of a boss._ Mostly because he knew it to be a lie.

Gwen's face popped into view over the door, smiling sweetly as if she could read his thoughts. "Yes you do. And don't worry, things will work themselves out. You'll see."

Merlin raised an eyebrow. She really was being _intolerably blissful_ as of late. "Like they did with Lance?"

Gwen's smile turned into something a bit more sheepish before she ducked back behind the door. "Well…no, not quite…" she muttered.

"Gwen?" Merlin was suddenly curious, and a bit concerned. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

"Um, well, you see…I had to propose to him, actually. It's not like I think he wouldn't have done it himself, or that he didn't want to, because he obviously did, but he kept getting distracted and running off to Borneo to save those pygmy elephants, or off to West Africa to save that weird flower that looks like a 12-foot penis, or _whatever,_ and I just…If I hadn't done it myself, I would have been waiting forever." Merlin could hear the self-deprecating smile in Gwen's voice without needing to see it. "So maybe there's a lesson there, after all." The door swung open then, and Gwen stepped out in a sleeveless white wedding dress, effectively stealing whatever reply Merlin had begun to form. She fidgeted a bit with her skirts and asked, "How do I look?"

Merlin stared. She looked nervous and terrified and overwhelmingly, radiantly happy. She was undeniably glowing. "Oh, Gwen. You look beautiful." And for the first time since that phone call, Merlin didn't feel that small bitter pang of self-pity that had been tainting his happiness for his friend. He truly meant it, with all of his heart.

Gwen smiled and took Merlin's hand in both of hers. "Merlin, if I hadn't taken a little initiative, I'd probably still be waiting for Lance to figure things out. Maybe…maybe all Arthur needs is a little push?"

Merlin smiled and squeezed her hands. Only Gwen wouldn't think twice about listening to Merlin prattle on about his problems while in the middle of what should rightfully be a time singularly devoted to her own happiness. "Listen, Gwen, I'm sorry I've been such a boor this last month. Not a whole lot of people would put up with me like you did, and well…just, thanks. You're a great friend."

A faint blush coloured Gwen's cheeks at the praise, and then her grin widened. "Well, you're still my maid of honour. Let's see if you're still saying that when you see the bridesmaid's dress I've picked out for you."

Merlin barked a laugh, but something on Gwen's face made him suddenly very worried. "Wait, that was a joke, right? You were joking." When Gwen just turned and shut the door to the changing room, Merlin's eyes widened. "Oh, god. Please tell me you were _joking._"

* * *

Merlin had meant to take Gwen's advice. He really did, but it was difficult to find a suitable way to work, "Arthur, you're an insufferable arse, but I think I'm in love with you," into a conversation about the many and varied ways Merlin failed at washing Arthur's socks. Arthur wavered between extremes. There were weeks when Arthur was running him ragged with chores all over town, and it was all Merlin could do just to find time to sleep and eat—let alone have enough time to work out how to have the most difficult conversation of his life with the most difficult person he'd ever met. Then there were other times when it felt like Merlin was on a six-inch leash, and those were almost worse, because Merlin barely had enough time to _breathe_ before the next orders were out of Arthur's mouth.

Merlin was trying to be patient, but they hadn't found time to have coffee together in over a month, and hadn't had lunch together in even longer. Eventually, Merlin just stopped asking.

He hoped Gwen was right, and things would work themselves out in time. But when Will called and said he wanted to meet up for a business proposition and drinks, Merlin was lonely and haggard and desperate for just a moment away. He said yes.

* * *

Merlin had learned his lesson by now (mostly) and limited himself to one pint for the night. He had worked through 3/4 of it so far, so Merlin was pleasantly buzzed by the time Will finally confronted the topic they'd been dancing around all evening. Namely, the fact that Will wanted to offer him a job at Ealdor Enterprises.

Once Merlin picked his jaw up off the floor and recovered enough to speak, he stuttered out, "But I already have a job."

Will scoffed into his beer. "I'm sure it's delightfully rewarding to run a bunch of pointless errands for Arthur bloody Pratdragon, but at Ealdor you'd be working with the civil engineers, making sure all their designs are as environmentally sound as possible. Don't tell me you'd rather skivvy for some pompous rich brat?" Merlin honestly didn't know how to answer that, so he didn't. Will sighed. "Look, Merlin, I know this must seem to be coming out of the blue, but I've been thinking a lot about what you said to me the other night, that whole thing about fiscal versus environmental responsibility, and it may have been mixed quite liberally with a bit of drunken ranting, but I think you've got a point. I also think you've got the type of vision that I—that _Ealdor_ would need to make it work."

Merlin tried to wrap his brain around what Will had just asked him. It would be the opportunity of a lifetime, but when Merlin considered the fact that he would have to leave Arthur to do it, it became considerably less appealing. Merlin privately wondered why he still felt such loyalty to a man who these days barely had time to look at him, much less speak a civil word. Hoping to deflect Will's attention as well as satisfy his own curiosity, Merlin asked, "What have you got against Arthur, anyway?"

Will glared morosely at the bar top. "I know him. I've dealt with men like him before. All he cares about is himself and getting ahead, and he doesn't care who he has to step on to get there."

"Arthur's not like that. We're…friends." Merlin frowned at his own words. More and more, he was beginning to doubt if that was true.

Will voiced the thoughts Merlin wasn't willing to admit to having when he said, "You may think that now, but just wait. He won't think twice about throwing you to the wolves if it suits him." There was a sullen pause, and then Will continued tentatively, not really looking at Merlin."Whatever he's paying you, I can offer you more."

Merlin answered quietly, "It's not about the money, Will."

Will's glass clunked down to the bar top with a bit more force than necessary. "Then what is it about, then?"

Merlin sighed. How could he explain it to Will if he couldn't even explain it to himself? Even on a good day his job left him miserable and exhausted, but then Arthur would look at him and grin at some private joke and Merlin would think, _This is it. This is right where I'm supposed to be._ Except that Arthur hadn't smiled at him in months. Taking a deep breath, Merlin said, "I trust Arthur. I believe in him. There's greatness in him, if you just know where to look."

Will downed the last of his drink and frowned. "This is a chance for you to be great for _yourself._ Just…think about it, alright?"

Merlin held his gaze for a long time before he gave a small, reluctant nod.

He kind of hated himself for even considering it, but two weeks later, he still hadn't said no.

* * *

Merlin practically leapt out of the cab, tossed a fistful of money at the driver and rushed through the doors to the hotel, frantically shouting into his phone, "Arthur, dammit, pick up! I know your phone's a piece of shit, but if you're not answering your phone because you're unconscious and trapped under something heavy, then why the hell did you dial me instead of Emergency? Hold on, I'm—I'm here, so—bollocks." Merlin clicked his phone shut, giving it up as a lost cause.

The lift ride seemed interminable. Merlin rode it up thirty floors, his worry ratcheting skywards along with each cheerful beep of the lift as the numbers climbed. Images kept flitting through his mind, each one worse than the last. Just as Merlin's mind conjured up the image of Arthur bleeding to death all over that expensive Oriental rug that Merlin hated, the lift doors opened and Merlin realized he'd been holding his breath for the last ten floors.

When Merlin burst through the door to the flat, he found Arthur face down not in a pool of his own blood, but face down and getting the tension worked from his shoulders by Greta, his massage therapist. Merlin's dread flipped to rage so fast it was staggering. "By god, Arthur, I hope you're paralyzed or dying from one hell of a Swedish deep-tissue-related injury, or I swear I'll—"

Arthur's smarmy voice interrupted Merlin's burgeoning rant. "Greta, I'm suddenly feeling a _pain in my ass._"

Merlin's rage frothed and boiled over. "_I thought you were _dying,_ you prick!_" For one murderous moment, Merlin very seriously considered the logistics of making that true.

Greta apparently took the look on Merlin's face as her cue to flee the premises, and she rushed out of the flat like she was desperate to escape World War III. Which, Merlin supposed, wasn't that much of a stretch. "Why the bloody hell would you think _that?_" Arthur said, glancing up at Merlin for the first time. "And what the hell are you wearing?"

Merlin looked down at his shiny pink shirt and black tux, and the realization that he had just run across town looking like the freakish lovechild of a penguin and Liberace only made him even angrier. "I was Gwen's maid of honour, alright? And don't you _dare_ say anything about it, because all you're wearing is a _towel_ and you texted me that you needed me _right now_, in the middle of a _wedding_, and then you weren't answering your phone, and I thought, 'Surely, Arthur wouldn't call me out of Gwen and Lance's wedding unless it was an emergency. He's not _that much of a bloody pillock,_' but clearly I was wrong!" By the time Merlin was finished, he could feel how red his face had become and he swore he was seconds away from having steam billow from his ears.

All Arthur did was gawk at him, one hand holding the towel precariously low on his hips and broad chest sprinkled with fine golden hair and _Merlin's life was so wretchedly unfair_ because he was absolutely furious and he should not want to jump Arthur for anything right now other than to _punch his bloody daylights out_. Arthur's gobsmacked voice brought Merlin's attention back to his face. "You left a _wedding?_ Why the hell did you leave a _wedding?_"

Merlin clenched his fists and said very slowly through gritted teeth, "Arthur, why did you call me?"

Arthur, not seeming to sense that he was treading on _seriously thin fucking ice_, simply replied, "I need you to take a look at my speech for the groundbreaking, put in some of those environmental facts you've been spouting off at me ever since we met. And I need you to put together my knight costume for that environmental benefit you and Morgana are planning. You'll need one too, of course. Something…servanty."

"My god, Arthur. This couldn't wait? The benefit's two weeks away! Are you _completely incapable_ of doing things for yourself?"

Arthur's dismissive eye roll grated on every single one of Merlin's already frazzled nerves. "In case you've forgotten, Merlin, it is in fact _your job_ to see to my needs."

Merlin felt something inside him snap, and he heard himself say flatly, "Not anymore, Arthur."

Arthur's brows knit in confusion. "What?"

Merlin took a deep, unsettling breath. "I quit," he said, proud that his voice only wobbled a little. "The only reason I took this job in the first place was to get you to preserve some of the land from your money-grubbing developers, and I've got that, so now I'm done. I can't take it anymore."

Arthur was still looking at Merlin as if he'd suddenly started doing back-flips across the room while professing his love for meat and big oil companies. "You're serious?"

"Yes," Merlin replied, surprised to find that he meant it. "Consider this my two weeks notice."

Arthur gaped at him for a very long time, and then his jaw abruptly snapped shut in a scowl. "No."

Now it was Merlin's turn to be nonplussed. "No?"

"No! I forbid you to quit," Arthur said, lifting his chin imperiously, as if he could simply _command Merlin to stay like some bloody royal decree._ Merlin felt his rage once again bubbling to the surface. "You've nowhere to go, no qualifications; nobody will even consider hiring you! You're lucky you even got _this_ job. It's not like 'avoiding oncoming traffic' is something you can put on your CV!"

Before Merlin could think better of it, he opened his mouth and said, "I've already been offered a job, Arthur."

Arthur seemed even more shocked by this than he had by Merlin quitting. His voice was pitched so high he practically squeaked as he demanded, "What? With who?"

Merlin swallowed, squared his shoulders and said, "With Will. I had drinks with him the other night. He offered me a job as their environmental advisor."

Arthur collapsed into a nearby leather chair as if his legs had been knocked out from under him. Merlin was reluctantly grateful the towel stayed put, because he didn't think he could have this conversation with a naked Arthur and still escape with his sanity intact. When Arthur spoke, his voice was surprisingly cold. "And what did you tell him?"

Merlin found himself matching Arthur's tone. "I said I'd think about it," he replied. "Though I suppose I know what my answer is now."

"I suppose you do," Arthur said, clenching his fists. He stood and turned his back on Merlin as he stalked towards his room. "You'll be telling him 'no' first thing tomorrow morning," he called without looking back.

"Arthur—"

"That's an order!" he snapped, slamming the door.

* * *

That night, Merlin didn't stay at the flat.

He must have been quite a sight when Gwen opened the door to find him on her doorstep, because she took one look at him and pulled him into a hug. It may have been their wedding night, but Lance made up the guest bed without being asked.

He'd never been more grateful for his friends in his life.

* * *

When Arthur walked through the door to his office, Morgana was already there waiting. "What the hell did you do to Merlin?"

"Damn it, Morgana!" Arthur snapped. "Can't this wait? I haven't even been in the building for ten minutes!"

"Considering the first thing Merlin did this morning was _turn in his resignation to Uther,_ I think ten minutes is more than enough time for me to figure out you've been a bloody twat!"

Arthur spun on her so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. "He did _what?_ He can't quit! I wouldn't let him!"

Morgana crossed her arms and gave him a cold glare. "Yes, well apparently he went over your head. So let me ask again: What the hell did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Arthur protested hotly. "He's the one being unreasonable! I've given him a fantastic salary, free room and board, and now he decides to up and quit just because I've asked him to _do his bloody job._"

"Clearly, you did _something._" Morgana countered. "Merlin cares about you, anybody could see that. He never would have put up with you this long otherwise, so if even half of that dim-witted brain of yours is in proper working order, you'll do whatever you can to make him reconsider."

Arthur wanted to tell her, "Not bloody likely," but by the time she left with a scathing glare in parting, Arthur could feel her words itching under his skin like a rash.

Arthur felt very much like he'd walked into an episode of the Twilight Zone. The thought of Merlin leaving was unfathomable. He tried to imagine it, to really picture going about the rest of his day to day life from now on without Merlin's constant, irritatingly enthusiastic presence, and he just…couldn't.

Arthur frowned. Damn that man for worming his way into Arthur's life and shaking it up so thoroughly. If anyone had told Arthur a year ago that he would be friends with his completely incompetent idiot of an assistant, that he would harbour something like fondness for those gigantic ears and that dopey smile, he would have laughed in their face before promptly firing them for being quite clearly out of their mind barmy. But Merlin had become even more than a friend. He'd become indispensable. Clearly, Arthur was doomed to an eternity of having the worst personal assistant in history.

Incredibly, he found he didn't exactly dread the thought of spending the rest of his life with Merlin at his side.

  


[Part 4](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/19804.html#cutid1)

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	4. Two Weeks Notice (4/5)

  
  
  
  
  


**Entry tags:**

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[fandom: merlin](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fandom%3A%20merlin), [fic: two weeks notice](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fic%3A%20two%20weeks%20notice), [genre: angst](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20angst), [genre: au](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20au), [genre: drama](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20drama), [genre: fluff](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20fluff), [genre: humor](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20humor), [genre: prompt/challenge response](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20prompt%2Fchallenge%20response), [genre: romance](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20romance), [pairing: merlin/arthur](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/pairing%3A%20merlin%2Farthur), [rating: nc-17](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/rating%3A%20nc-17)  
  
  
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At first, Merlin didn't say anything about the few extra errands added to his usual list of duties. There was the crate of organic green tea shipped directly from China (and probably grown in Taiwan) that he had to pick up at the docks, then the complete library of vegan cookbooks (not printed on recycled paper, of course) that he had to gather from various bookstores downtown, and the bamboo-and-hemp robe (which was surprisingly warm and soft, actually) that he had to pick up from the specialty shop on the other side of London. But Merlin drew the line when Arthur sent him out over his lunch break to get the designer faux leather watch Arthur had specially commissioned from Armani.

"I'm pretty sure giving me presents doesn't work if you send me out to pick them up myself," Merlin pointed out, voice steeped in frustration. "And just for the record, it sort of defeats the purpose of giving me eco-friendly gifts if I have to waste petrol driving all over London to get them."

Arthur looked bemused. "Then I'll buy you a Prius."

Merlin threw the watch box at Arthur's head.

_   
**Two Weeks Notice (4/5)**   
_

* * *

Merlin glared at the cup in Arthur's hand as if it contained battery acid, or possibly the blood of helpless kittens. Arthur stood his ground, but when Merlin turned his glare on Arthur, he winced.

"Look, I didn't think the bloody thing would be so impossible to operate. You do it every day, and you're an idiot!" Merlin's glare intensified and Arthur re-evaluated his word choice. This was what he got for trying to do something _nice,_ like make Merlin's morning coffee. Arthur thought of the noise the coffee machine had made as it died, sounding an awful lot like the horrible death rattle of a beast who'd had its plans for world domination foiled, and said, "If you ask me, we're all better off this way. That thing was bound to take over the world eventually." Arthur raised a hand to rub over his forehead just to check that Merlin wasn't burning a hole into his skull with the laser-like power of his glare. Merlin looked as if he wouldn't mind living under a fascist dictatorship ruled by machines if it just meant he got to have _coffee._

"Starbucks isn't even organic," Merlin muttered darkly.

Arthur stubbornly didn't retract the steaming cup. "It's this or nothing," he said.

Merlin's fury began to visibly waver. After a very long beat, he reached out and took the cup from Arthur's hand. Arthur only dared to linger a moment. He wasn't totally convinced Merlin wasn't planning to dump it over Arthur's head.

He turned to head back into his office, and he heard Merlin call after him, "Did you at least—"

"Yes, I remembered the soy milk," Arthur replied, not turning around. Once he reached his desk, he hazarded a surreptitious glance over his shoulder to see Merlin staring morosely at the cup cradled between his palms. After a lengthy contemplation, one hand moved the cup towards the trash bin before it stopped, hovering precariously for several seconds. Then Merlin brought the cup back and resolutely lifted it to his lips.

The mammoth coffee machine was well and truly dead, but Arthur made sure there was a coffee setting on Merlin's desk every morning.

* * *

The first time they'd gone out to lunch together in months was when Arthur forcefully dragged Merlin out onto the streets of downtown London. He had apparently planned the whole thing, complete with a vegan wrap for Merlin and a steak sandwich for himself. The weather was overcast and threatening rain, but Arthur insisted they walk along the Thames as they ate. It was all so terribly thoughtful and something that might even be called _sweet_ if coming from anyone but _Arthur_, that Merlin kept wondering if he needed to run home and check for a pod under Arthur's bed.

Conversation was stilted and tense and full of the painfully polite small talk usually found only on first dates. And the whole thing inexplicably _felt_ like a first date. There was one horridly awkward moment where Merlin caught Arthur staring thoughtfully out over the water, breeze gently ruffling his hair, and all Merlin wanted to do was reach out and _hold Arthur's hand,_ and it all just reminded him of why he was leaving in the first place.

"Arthur," Merlin said quietly, interrupting Arthur's rant about some muck up in the accounting department, "it's not that I don't appreciate the effort. I do, but…I'm not changing my mind."

Arthur's expression shut down to the carefully blank look he'd cultivated for difficult financial negotiations, but his knuckles were white on the railing at the water's edge. "Why not?"

Merlin just stood next to him on the walkway, silently gazing at the same nebulous point in the distance that seemed to have fixated Arthur, and thought desperately, _Because I can't have you, and it's time that I moved on._

When it seemed apparent that Merlin wasn't going to answer, Arthur said curtly, "Fine." And then, because he couldn't seem to resist, he added, "But really, _Will?_"

A rueful smile tugged at Merlin's lips and he shrugged, saying simply, "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Arthur's voice was unnecessarily harsh as he said, "He only wants you because you're mine."

Merlin's anger flared, sharp and hot. "I'm not some toy you can refuse to share with the other school kids," he replied fiercely.

Arthur's hands twisted as if trying to wrench the metal railing in his grasp, but his chin dropped to his chest and he said softly, "I know that, Merlin. Just…please."

The request tore Merlin in two directions at once. A part of him—a very strong part—wanted nothing more than to give it another shot, to try and pretend that every day by Arthur's side, so close but just out of reach, watching him waste his potential to be something more, wasn't slowly breaking his heart. The other part, the part Merlin was just starting to listen to, kept telling him to get out while he still could, to find his own happiness separate from Arthur's. Merlin stared hard at Arthur until finally, Arthur dared to look up and meet Merlin's eyes. Merlin wasn't sure what he was expecting to see, but he knew at once that even if he had no intention of going back to work for Arthur, he couldn't take that job with Will, not if it meant hurting Arthur. "…Okay," he said. "But that's the last thing you get to ask of me. I'm still leaving tomorrow, so don't ask me to stay," Merlin stated, then added to himself, _because I don't think I'm strong enough to tell you no._

The only sign of Arthur's relief was an almost imperceptible loosening of his features. Their gazes held for a good long while, until finally, a strange look flickered across Arthur's face and he said, "When this is all over, after tomorrow, I mean, do you think we could—"

Arthur's question was cut off when his phone rang. Merlin determinedly quashed the hope that had sparked in his chest and made his heart flutter against his ribs, because surely Arthur hadn't been about to ask what Merlin was hoping he would. The phone rang again. It was the tone especially assigned to calls from Arthur's father, but even so Arthur hesitated a moment before reaching into his pocket. He answered with a curt greeting, suddenly all business. He listened for a few minutes, nodding in a way that Merlin doubted he even knew he was doing, and then agreed to head back to the office right away before ending the call.

"Don't tell me," Merlin said. "Urgent business?"

"Afraid so," Arthur agreed with a half-smile. "Looks like we'll have to cut lunch short today. Raincheck?"

Merlin grinned. "Fine by me, as long as you agree not to make me lunch ever again." Merlin gratefully tossed the remains of his wrap in the nearest rubbish bin. "And you call _my_ cooking terrible."

"You have no room to talk when most of your tofu creations taste like waterlogged cardboard." Arthur scowled, but there was the hint of a smile behind his eyes, and Merlin felt that stubborn spark of hope reignite.

* * *

Arthur was more than a little distracted as he manoeuvered the halls to the CEO's inner sanctum. Sometimes Arthur thought his father had purposely designed the building to make his office as inaccessible as possible, in the hopes of warding off people not brave enough to run the gauntlet and thus unable to survive the full force of The Pendragon Glare. Arthur, however, could walk these halls in his sleep, and so he advanced easily through the labyrinth of twists and turns while his mind occupied itself with idle thoughts, mostly centering on his soon-to-be-ex-assistant.

Though just a few days ago that thought would have filled Arthur with a disquieting kind of dread, the situation no longer seemed as dire as it once had. Just because Merlin was leaving the company, it didn't necessarily mean he would be out of Arthur's life. If nothing else, there was the possibility that they could at least continue to have their regular lunch meetings, something Arthur fully intended to ask Merlin about once he finished this meeting with his father.

Arthur knocked once on the heavy, foreboding oak doors before stepping into his father's office. "You wanted to see me, Father?"

Uther looked up from his reports with a bleak expression. Of course, the only reason Arthur could tell it was bleak was because he'd become attuned to deciphering his father's facial expressions over the years. Uther had carefully cultivated an air of fierce disinterest that worked well on outsiders and served to keep investors in line. "Yes, I was hoping to go over your reports on the shopping centre development south of London." He stood and came around to the front of his desk. Uther hadn't addressed Arthur from behind the desk since the day he'd become an Executive VP and proven himself to be the deserving heir to the company Uther had worked so hard to build. "I know I approved your plans to keep a portion of the land undeveloped, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to retract my approval."

"What?" Arthur flinched as if his father's words had struck a physical blow.

"It was a noble idea, Arthur, but it's just not feasible. It cuts too far into our profit margin."

Arthur felt his stomach drop. "No, it doesn't have to. Read my proposal again. I looked into some new vendors, and I found we're being overcharged by nearly 350 percent. If we just—"

"It's still too wide of a margin, Arthur," his father said, his tone broaching no argument. "Some of the more prominent investors are unhappy with the direction of the project, and we can't afford to lose them. With the economy being what it is, we need this build. If the company falls, we'll be left with nothing."

Arthur refused to give up. He had too much resting on seeing this through. "There must be something we can do. We can find new investors," Arthur protested.

Uther fixed Arthur with a stare as hard and cold as his voice. "My decision is final, Arthur."

Arthur knew that was his warning to let it go, but he pressed on. "No, I don't accept that," he said, meeting his father's stare and drawing himself up to his full height. "I won't fail you. I can do this, if you'll let me."

Uther's voice was nothing short of a command. "The only thing you're going to be doing is making a public statement at the groundbreaking ceremony thanking our investors."

Uther moved back towards his seat behind his desk, a none-too-subtle signal that the meeting was concluded, but Arthur couldn't back down, not when he was about to lose everything for a second time. Arthur had never begged his father for anything in his life, but he came as close as he dared with his next words. "Please, Father. You can't ask this of me. Merlin would never forgive me."

"I'm not asking," his father snapped, harsh and angry. "The policies of this company are not dictated by the whims of your errand boy."

"Father—"

"Damn it, Arthur, that's an end to it!" Uther bellowed, and Arthur finally was forced to admit there was nothing left to be done. He felt his fledgling reconciliation with Merlin slip through his fingers.

* * *

"Arthur, breakfast is ready. I made scrambled eggs." Well, it was egg-substitute, really, but Arthur didn't need to know that. Merlin shoveled the not-eggs onto two plates along with a healthy side of turkey bacon for Arthur. By the time he'd poured the juice and Arthur still hadn't dragged himself out of bed, Merlin decided it was going to be one of _those_ mornings and got a cup of ice water to go dump over Arthur's head.

But Merlin was disappointed when he went into Arthur's room to find the bed still made, apparently not slept in since two nights ago. Merlin frowned. Arthur had texted last night to say he would be out late and not to wait up, but it wasn't like Arthur not to come home, no matter how badly the meeting with his father must have gone.

The flat was large, but there weren't a lot of places for Arthur to hide. That just left one possible option, however unlikely it may have been. On impulse, Merlin grabbed his jacket from the hall closet and, upon seeing Arthur's jacket was hanging alongside Merlin's, grabbed it as well, then headed for the roof. The days were still as warm as ever, but a bit of a chill had begun to creep into the early mornings, hinting that autumn was just around the corner.

Merlin's suspicions were confirmed when he stepped out onto the roof to find Arthur standing there in the same clothes he'd been wearing yesterday. If he heard Merlin's approach, he gave no indication, instead eerily focused on the distant skyline to the south. "Arthur, what are you doing up here?"

Arthur turned his head slightly at the sound of Merlin's voice, but his body didn't follow. "I wanted some fresh air."

Merlin refrained from commenting on the unlikelihood of that statement being true, given that Arthur had repeatedly stated that he had spent loads of money on a special air filtration system so that he didn't need to worry about things like fresh air. Instead, Merlin held up Arthur's jacket and Arthur slipped his arms into the sleeves with what appeared to be almost instinctive reflex, the action well-practiced between the two of them every day for the past year. The wind kicked up a bit around them and Merlin shivered. "You must be freezing," Merlin commented mildly, taking one of Arthur's hands between his and trying to rub some warmth into the frozen skin. "Arthur, your hands are like ice! Have you been out here all night?"

Merlin continued to vigorously rub Arthur's hand between his, pressing his fingers to Arthur's palm as he tried to bleed some of his warmth into Arthur. Then Arthur's fingers slowly curled and twined with Merlin's. For a moment, Merlin felt a flash of heat where their skin touched. He was sure Arthur must have noticed, but when he looked up to Arthur's face, Merlin found Arthur's expression to be almost unbearably sad.

"I…I made eggs," Merlin said lamely.

"I hope it's real eggs this time, and not those terrible fake eggs." Arthur's tone was appropriately disparaging, but that look of sadness never left his eyes. A long moment passed, and then Arthur brushed the pad of his thumb lightly over Merlin's knuckles before dropping his hand. "What will you do with your garden?"

It took Merlin's thoughts a moment to catch up. "Oh, well, it's technically your garden, really, so I…I was thinking I'd leave it here, actually." Arthur's gaze shifted over Merlin's shoulder to fix on the garden behind him, and Merlin added, "But you've got to promise to take care of them. The new butterflies should be emerging soon, but the flowers still need fertilizer, and water of course, every day, and make sure you—"

"I'll hire someone." The corner of Arthur's mouth quirked up, but Merlin noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes. Merlin ignored Arthur's uncharacteristic moroseness and tried to shift Arthur's mood to more familiar territory.

"It's not like you're incapable of doing your own chores," Merlin chided. "Though I suppose you do have a tendency to muck things up if left to your own devices."

Arthur raised one haughty eyebrow. "At least I'm not an insufferable know-it-all."

Merlin raised an eyebrow to match. "No, you're just an insufferable prat."

This time, when Arthur smiled, it felt more real. "I find you…annoying."

Arthur's tone was so unbearably fond that Merlin momentarily lost his ability for rational speech and only stuttered, "Yes, well. Likewise."

Arthur's expression briefly brightened before settling into something a bit softer. "I'm glad you're here, Merlin."

Merlin blinked. "Where else would I be?"

Some of the sadness from earlier crept back into Arthur's gaze just before it shifted to once again look out over the city. "Well, after tomorrow…"

"Oh. Right… tomorrow." Merlin instantly felt a bit silly. Of course he wouldn't be expected to see Arthur again after tomorrow, but he found he'd been hoping all the same. But this was what he'd wanted, to be away from Arthur's constant, thankless demands and his own pathetic attraction. Merlin tried to sound more cheerful than he felt as he said, "Tomorrow I need to look at your speech, polish your costume for the benefit, then I'll be out of your life forever."

Out of the corner of his eye, Merlin saw a muscle in Arthur's jaw twitch. A moment later, Arthur's voice was all business as he said, "Listen, I need to tell you something. I—" Arthur paused and chanced a look at Merlin, his shoulders slumping a little as their eyes caught briefly. "I'm sorry it's been so unbearable for you these last few months," he finished, looking away again.

Merlin shrugged, trying to convince himself it didn't hurt that Arthur's apology was too little, too late. "Not at all. I'm looking forward to going back to The Smithy. I've missed it."

Arthur swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "Then I guess it's good you'll be leaving soon." Arthur sounded like he meant the exact opposite of that.

Merlin quietly echoed the sentiment. "Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

Arthur should have known better than to let Morgana plan the benefit ball. Someday, her extravagant tastes and love of melodramatic romance novels (which Arthur had found hidden under her bed as a teenager) was going to be the death of him, if for no other reason than the fact that he would die of _embarrassment_ from being in her proximity.

He had a sneaking suspicion tonight would be that night.

The ballroom of the Camelot Hotel was done up to look like the massive banquet hall of a medieval castle, with tapestries and torches and medieval costumes and court jesters and minstrels, and how the hell Morgana had talked their father into wearing a crown for the event Arthur hadn't a bloody clue.

Arthur himself was dressed as a knight, in shining armor and chain mail. It was ridiculously heavy but when it caught the firelight it made him look quite dashing, if he did say so himself. Besides, he got to carry around an actual, _real_ sword all night, and he'd had a great deal of fun earlier twirling it around and listening to the 'swish' sound it made as it cut through the air.

Arthur eyed the absurd, completely out of place disco ball hanging from the crystal chandelier on the ceiling as it spun lazily and caused dim spots of light to go dancing across fire lit tapestries. Then his gaze drifted to the figure standing under the ball, spots of light twinkling over the dark hair and pale complexion of Arthur's assistant, and Arthur was suddenly knocked off his feet by a wave of blinding, naked _want._

Merlin was gazing about the room with the kind of big-eyed amazement that seemed to pervade his entire presence, but for once Arthur was grateful for his assistant's constant air of distraction. He hadn't caught sight of Arthur yet, so he didn't see Arthur staring at him in slack-jawed wonder. Merlin was wearing a simple tunic with a red silk doublet, the lacings pulled tight across his chest to fit his lean form, a leather belt wrapped around his narrow hips. Sleek black leggings melded into black leather boots that covered slender calves, and Arthur wondered why the hell he'd never noticed before just how incredibly long his assistant's legs really were. Arthur felt like he was seeing Merlin for the first time, but at the same time there was something incredibly familiar and _right_ about all this. Merlin's eyes found him, and a wide smile blossomed across his assistant's face. At that moment something hidden in the back of Arthur's mind, something fundamental that had been lingering in his chest since their first meeting, finally clicked into place.

Merlin caught Arthur staring and looked down at himself, then shrugged one shoulder questioningly. The small movement drew Arthur's eye to the fit of the doublet across Merlin's shoulders, but even as he felt his mouth go dry he knew what Merlin meant by the gesture was an innocent, "How do I look?"

Arthur licked his lips and swallowed hard, trying to manage any expression besides stunned awe. He allowed his gaze a few more moments' helpless indulgence before he offered a small nod. Merlin's pleased smile lit up the room.

Arthur didn't know who moved first, but the next thing he knew they were crossing the floor towards one another as if locked in a trance; Arthur dodging and sidestepping anyone who crossed his path without taking his eyes off Merlin, like he might disappear if Arthur looked away. Once he was within arm's reach Arthur noted that the lacings of the shirt and doublet were open at the neck, revealing the delicate hollow where Merlin's collarbones met, and Arthur had to stop himself from reaching out to trace the dip with his fingers, to see if the skin there was as soft as it looked. "Merlin, you look—" Arthur clamped his mouth shut on the rest of the thought in an attempt to keep himself from behaving like more of a besotted fool than he already was.

Merlin's grin turned self deprecating and he took another glance down at himself. "It's not too much? I know you said 'servanty,' but I figured it's a party, so—"

"No. No, it's—" Arthur cleared his throat and tried to sound as dismissive as possible. "It'll do."

Merlin's smile curved into a smirk as he said, "Well, you haven't seen the _whole_ outfit," and produced a giant, red, feathered monstrosity that he promptly set upon his head. Arthur let out a startled huff of laughter which Merlin matched, but then Arthur found himself reaching out to pull the appalling hat off of Merlin's head.

"Any other day, the role of Court Jester would fit you admirably," he said, smoothing out Merlin's ruffled hair with fingers that seemed to have developed a mind of their own. "But tonight, I think…" Arthur trailed off as his focus was captured by the silky black lock between his thumb and forefinger. He let his hand slide lower until his thumb grazed the very edge of Merlin's cheekbone, resting there, and a tiny intake of breath alerted Arthur to the fact that he had probably taken the moment far beyond the accepted levels of propriety allowed between a boss and his assistant. But when he flicked his eyes back to Merlin's face, Merlin was grinning, wide and surprised and _happy_ in a way that Arthur hadn't seen on him in a long time. Something indefinable swelled in Arthur's chest. The air hung heavy and charged between them, and Arthur felt his blood rushing through his veins at near warp speed. Merlin's gaze dropped to Arthur's lips at the same time Arthur leaned incrementally closer.

"Merlin!" an unwelcome and far too jovial voice called out to them. Arthur jerked his hand away from Merlin's face, breaking the moment just as Will drew close. "My god, you look fantastic!" Will said with open admiration, passing a brief glance over Merlin from head to toe. He then had the gall to reach up and trace the fine gold embroidery near the collar of the doublet. Arthur's hand twitched before he managed to reign in the overwhelming impulse to draw his sword and club Will's thick head with the flat of the blade. Arthur flicked a look back to Merlin to find his assistant's eyes were still locked on Arthur's face, and Merlin's grin was far too shrewd for Arthur's comfort.

Will finally seemed to grasp that nobody's attention was on him and said haltingly, "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something important?"

"No," Arthur started, then coughed and tried to sound a little less like he'd been caught having very impure inclinations towards his assistant. "No, of course not. Just, you know…business."

Merlin was still looking at Arthur with eyes that held a knowing glint and amusement and _promise_, such promise that Arthur's fingers twitched again, this time with the desire to drag his assistant to the nearest darkened corner and do everything in his power to remove that insubordinate smirk from his face. "It's nothing that we can't finish later," Merlin added, and Arthur's heart did a somersault inside his chest.

"Oh, good," Will said, sounding relieved. "For a minute there, I thought you might be discussing the land development fiasco."

That, apparently, was enough to tear Merlin's eyes away to fix pointedly on Will. Arthur, however, found himself suddenly paralyzed, his chest filled with cold lead, forced to watch Merlin's features as the carpet was ripped out right under his feet. "What?" Merlin asked, a confused wrinkle forming between his brows.

"I know it hasn't officially been announced yet, but I just overheard two of your investors discussing it. They sounded pretty relieved that the nature reserve donation had been rescinded."

Merlin stared at Will in incredulous, numb shock for a good five seconds, and then his features crumpled into some bizarre mix of disappointment and fury that only Merlin could have pulled off. When he turned that look on Arthur, it struck like a physical blow. "Is that true?"

Arthur's stomach gave a particularly violent and painful twist because god, it had only taken a moment for everything to come together then fall apart before his eyes, and he would give anything, _anything,_ to get Merlin to look at him the way he had been less than thirty seconds ago. "Merlin," he said quietly, apology already forming on his lips.

But Merlin just took a hasty step back, and Arthur didn't even realize he'd moved forward until Merlin held up his hands as if to keep Arthur at bay, jaw tight and eyes burning with betrayal. "I can't believe—You _said_—"

"I told you I couldn't promise anything, Merlin." Arthur didn't even care that a panicked edge had started to creep into his voice as Merlin took another distancing step back. He reached out a hand to wrap around Merlin's upper arm, the silk warm and soft beneath his fingers. "Merlin, please. Let me explain."

Merlin wrenched his arm away, his expression morphing into a determined sneer that looked completely out of place on Merlin's features. "Don't bother," he spat. "I wouldn't trust anything you had to say to me, anyway."

And with that, Merlin turned on his heel and stalked off, Arthur's eyes losing him as he disappeared into the crowd.

Will had been standing silent witness to the whole exchange, but he chose that moment to try to take off after Merlin like some conquering hero. Arthur's hand twisted in the shoulder of Will's shirt and he wrenched Will back in place with a fierce tug. Will's eyes widened, but he stood his ground. Arthur swallowed past the angry lump in his throat and said, slowly, "That was a low blow, Will."

Will sneered dismissively. "Oh, come down off your moral high horse. You did this to yourself. Merlin's well shot of you, if you ask me."

Arthur's fist shot out and connected to Will's jaw with a solid crack.

The next thing Arthur knew he was shaking off the hands of the three men holding him back, Will was cradling his jaw like the pansy he was, and Arthur was storming away, making sure to head in the opposite direction he'd seen Merlin leave.

Fuck Merlin. Fuck him and his stupid face and his ridiculous grin and his damned coffee and the way his hair curled around his too-large ears and his idiotic, self-righteous arse. He really was the worst bloody assistant Arthur had ever had. Arthur was lucky he was never going to be seeing Merlin again after tomorrow.

Arthur was rather unsurprised when that thought didn't make him feel any better. At all.

* * *

Merlin had commandeered an entire bottle of the most expensive champagne he could find and was well on his way to getting _righteously sloshed_ in a back hallway when Will found him.

"Don't say it," Merlin warned, brandishing the bottle like a weapon. "If you dare say 'I told you so,' I will _break this bottle over your fat head._"

Will raised both eyebrows. "I wasn't going to say that."

"Yes, you were. Don't _lie_," Merlin countered belligerently, then downed another healthy swig from the bottle. "Arthur's a liar. I hate liars. They lie. I'm glad I don't work for him anymore," Merlin concluded vehemently. Maybe if he said it strongly enough, it would make his chest stop hurting.

Will held his hands in front of him as if warding off Merlin's imminent attack. "Alright, maybe I would. But I promise I won't, if only because you're kind of bloody terrifying right now."

Abruptly, all the fight went out of Merlin and he sagged against the wall. "I thought he could be different. I thought…" _I thought he could be someone greater than he is_. "I don't know what I thought."

Will settled against the wall next to Merlin, taking the bottle from his lax fingers and tipping it back to his own lips. He downed a healthy three swallows and passed it back to Merlin, then said, "C'mon, mate. Let's get the hell out of here."

* * *

Arthur was _not_ brooding. He was simply staring out the window so he didn't start searching the room for Merlin's face. Again. He knew he wouldn't be able to take the look of hurt and betrayal he found there.

It didn't matter now, anyway. Arthur had bollocksed everything up quite splendidly. There would be no coming back from this.

Arthur heard the clicking of Morgana's heels as she approached, and Arthur thought that only Morgana could transmit disdain with simply the rhythm of her steps. Her voice was sharp and authoritative at his back. "If you don't go after him, Arthur Pendragon, then you're an even bigger fool than I thought, and you deserve whatever misery you have to endure for the rest of your sad, pathetic existence."

Arthur could think of a great deal of uncharitable remarks to make in response, but in the end, it would only prolong the torture of this particular conversation. Instead, he settled on the truth. "He doesn't want me."

"After what you did, I can't say that I blame him."

Arthur's jaw clenched. "I didn't have a choice."

"You always have a choice. Sometimes you have to do what you know is right, and damn the consequences."

Very slowly, Arthur turned to meet her eyes. She was wearing the _completely exasperated_ expression she used when she thought Arthur was being so utterly dense that he needed the obvious spelled out for him in bright, flashing neon letters. It was an expression she only used when she knew Arthur would be forced to admit she was right, no matter how much he hated it. As her words slowly sunk in, Arthur felt a wide, hopeful smile creep across his face. "Have I told you lately how very, very much I despise you?"

And Morgana, because she understood, simply rolled her eyes and said, "God, _men._ It's as if you're all horribly allergic to just saying what you mean. You'd be totally useless without me, you know that?"

Arthur's smile widened as he felt the tightness in his chest loosen, then re-coil as something very much like anticipation. He needed to find Merlin. He could still make this right.

Morgana, because she was a little bit scary and omniscient, said, "He's probably up in your flat, sulking."

"I guess you think this means I owe you," he mock scowled.

Morgana's grin was devilish. "Make me your best man at your wedding and we'll call it even. I'll even throw you a killer bachelor party."

* * *

"It's up here!" Merlin called, motioning with the half-empty champagne bottle. He stumbled his way up the spiral staircase with Will close behind, which was really a stroke of luck when Merlin began to wobble backwards and Will caught him with an arm around his waist. Merlin didn't think it was _strictly_ necessary that Will leave his hand there as they climbed the rest of the stairs, but seeing as how Merlin was beginning to see double he wasn't opposed to the helping hand, as it were. Merlin draped his free arm over Will's shoulders, finding him surprisingly solid when he leaned in for support.

When they both emerged onto the roof, Merlin gave a grand gesture and announced, "There it is!"

He turned to see Will looking a bit bemused. "You know, when you said you wanted to show me something back at your flat, this wasn't what I pictured."

Merlin abruptly deflated. "You don't like it,'" he grumbled. "Arthur didn't like it, either. I thought he was just pretending, but apparently not. Unless he really was. How should I bloody know? Arthur's a very good liar."

"He's also a moron," Will supplied easily. "What he did to you, Merlin…I would never do something like that."

Merlin sloppily patted Will on the back and nodded in a way that would have had him face down on the concrete if it wasn't for Will's arm still tight around his waist. "You're a good friend, Will," Merlin acknowledged gravely.

Will gave a funny kind of snort, and after a moment said, "In the interest of honesty, I think there's something I need to tell you." Merlin frowned and turned to look curiously at Will, slightly listing to one side. It took a few moments before he was able to focus on the side of Will's face. "I meant it when I said I see a lot of potential in you, Merlin. But that's not the only reason I wanted to hire you."

Merlin blinked hazily. "Oh?"

"I thought—I _hoped_, really…" Will paused, then gently took the champagne bottle from Merlin's hand. After downing a healthy swallow, he turned so he was looking right in Merlin's eyes. "We have a lot in common, you and I. I was thinking we would…make a very good team. Together."

Before Merlin could puzzle out what Will meant, he was surprised to feel Will's mouth pressed up against his. The kiss was more than a little unexpected, but once the initial shock wore off it was actually…quite nice, really. Comforting, in a way Merlin hadn't realized he'd needed. Will's lips were soft and dry, and Merlin found himself flicking out his tongue to wet them. Will angled his head to deepen the kiss, and that's when the sound of shattering glass made them spring apart.

* * *

Arthur was practically whistling by the time he made it back to the flat. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he was convinced he could work things out with Merlin. He still had no idea what to do about his father, but he would find a way to compromise with the developers in the morning. Right now, though, he needed to see Merlin, to set things right between them, to get things back on track to where Arthur was now able to admit they'd been headed all along.

Merlin wasn't in the flat, so that only left the roof. Arthur impulsively grabbed a bottle of wine from the rack, then wondered if maybe he was pushing his luck. He was going up there to work out a business negotiation, not to have some romantic rooftop rendezvous. He put the bottle back on the rack, then made it halfway up the stairs before he went back and grabbed it again, as well as two glasses. It never hurt to bring a peace offering to a negotiation.

Wine and glasses in hand, Arthur raced up the stairs. He took three steps into the cool night air and froze. It took his mind several staggering tries before he was able to absorb the tableau in front of him, to register the unfathomable image of Merlin and Will in each other's arms, in what was clearly a passionate embrace. Arthur felt his heart sink like a stone into his stomach, and the bottle slipped from his fingers to shatter on the concrete.

* * *

Merlin turned, startled, then felt his eyes go impossibly wide. "Ar-Arthur?" he stuttered in shock. Arthur met his eyes, and Merlin had already had his heart broken once tonight, it should be impossible to do it again, so how could he explain the way he felt when he saw the look on Arthur's face?

Very belatedly, Merlin extricated himself from Will's arms. Taking a shaky step forward and feeling suddenly very, _very_ sober, Merlin said, "Arthur, this isn't…I can explain."

Arthur turned and stormed back down the stairs to the flat. Merlin didn't even hesitate before he followed after him.

Merlin caught up to him at the lift doors, where Arthur was frantically jabbing at the call button as if that would make the lift come any faster. "Arthur, please, can't we talk about this?"

"I don't need an _explanation_, Merlin," Arthur told the lift doors. "We're both adults, and I'm well aware of what sorts of activities you have planned for the evening."

"Planned? Wha—No, Arthur, it wasn't—it was an accident."

"What so, he just tripped and fell on your tongue, then? Is that it?" Arthur snapped, then jammed the call button again with a bit more force.

Merlin felt his temper flare in a way that only ever seemed to happen around Arthur. It was as if the man had completely forgotten the way he'd completely betrayed Merlin's trust only a few short hours ago. "I don't see what gives you the right to start acting like a jealous boyfriend! _You're_ the one who lied about the one thing I have _ever_ asked of you!"

"Not all of us can live in whatever happy fantasy land you've created inside your head, Merlin. Some of us have to live in the real world. And in the real world, not everything works out with a pretty pink ribbon to tie it all up neatly. Things are complicated, and sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good."

Merlin huffed a humorless laugh. "Don't talk to me about _sacrifices_, after wasting a year of my life working for you. You're just trying to cover your own arse."

"Better _covering_ my arse than offering it up to anyone who'll take it," Arthur spat, motioning towards the roof and, presumably, Will.

Merlin swallowed thickly until he was sure he could speak without his voice betraying how much Arthur's words had hurt. "Don't be like this, Arthur. You're _better_ than this. If you would just—"

"I'm not one of your stupid little animals, Merlin. I don't need _saving._"

"I can't believe you're not even going to _try_ to be the person you could be!"

Arthur kicked the lift door in a fit of rage and whirled on Merlin, shouting, "This _is_ who I am, Merlin. I'm sorry if it's not good enough for you, but not everyone can measure up to your _exacting_ standards." He motioned again towards the roof, just to make his point quite clear.

The doors to the lift pinged open, and Arthur hastily stepped inside. Merlin's hand shot out to hold the doors open and he leaned forward to meet Arthur's eyes with a fierce stare. "I don't want perfection, Arthur. Perfection is boring. But I also don't want to work for something—or some_one_— that I can't believe in." Arthur's eyes were furious and hurt as they met Merlin's, but it needed to be said. "You know, Arthur, it's not entirely impossible for someone to change. Even someone as pig-headed as you."

And with that, Merlin stepped back and let the lift doors quietly glide shut.

Merlin stood watching the space where Arthur had been for a long time before Will's hand settled on his shoulder. "He doesn't deserve you, you know."

Merlin blinked away the sting in his eyes and said, "Actually, that's just it. I think maybe he does, but he won't even try."

[Part 5](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/19996.html#cutid1)

  
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	5. Two Weeks Notice (5/5)

  
  
  
  
  


**Entry tags:**

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[fandom: merlin](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fandom%3A%20merlin), [fic: two weeks notice](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fic%3A%20two%20weeks%20notice), [genre: angst](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20angst), [genre: au](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20au), [genre: drama](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20drama), [genre: fluff](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20fluff), [genre: humor](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20humor), [genre: prompt/challenge response](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20prompt%2Fchallenge%20response), [genre: romance](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/genre%3A%20romance), [pairing: merlin/arthur](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/pairing%3A%20merlin%2Farthur), [rating: nc-17](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/rating%3A%20nc-17)  
  
  
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Merlin's going away party was in full swing. There was music and balloons wishing him luck in cheerful bright lettering and even cake. The only thing missing was Merlin.

The door to Arthur's office clicked shut, drowning out the sounds of chatter coming from the office party. Merlin closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the solid wood. He doubted anyone would notice he'd slipped out of his own party, and even if they did, he doubted they'd mind. Merlin wasn't exactly the life of the party right now.

Merlin opened his eyes and heaved a sigh into the empty office. For the first time in the past year that Merlin could remember, Arthur hadn't come in to work today, and the place felt strangely subdued, as if even the glow from the fluorescent lights wasn't enough to illuminate the office without Arthur's shining presence to add to it. The flat had felt the same way when Arthur neglected to come home last night.

_Home._ Merlin needed to stop thinking about it like that, especially since he'd moved out all of his things that morning.

Merlin slowly walked up to Arthur's desk, tracing a finger over the edge. The polished wood grain was smooth under the pads of his fingers. Merlin hesitated a moment before sinking into the high backed leather chair behind Arthur's desk. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he thought he could detect a faint hint of Arthur's stupidly expensive, animal-tested aftershave lingering in the soft leather. Before he could think better of it, Merlin picked up the phone and was halfway through dialing Arthur's mobile when he slammed the phone back into its cradle. A second later, he picked it up again and dialed Gwen.

It rang three times, and then Merlin didn't even giver her time to stutter out a hello before he said, "I think I've really screwed up."

"Merlin?" Gwen asked, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"I've lost him, Gwen." Merlin didn't bother to mention the insanity of losing someone he was planning to leave in the first place, but thankfully Gwen didn't mention it, either.

"Don't say that, Merlin," Gwen replied, ever hopeful. "What's that UniKORN slogan you and Lance are always spouting off about? Nothing's ever really lost as long as there's someone left who's willing to fight."

Merlin let out an aggravated sigh. "And what if I don't want to fight for him anymore? I'm not even sure that I ever want to see him again. What he did, Gwen, it was unforgivable. And then he didn't even have the guts to come into the office and face me today. The least he could do was come in and let me call him a prat to his face." Merlin knew Gwen heard what he meant: _I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye._

"I know you're angry at him right now, Merlin, but if you love him as much as I think you do, you'll find a way to get past it. I had to fight for Lance, and it's the best thing I ever did."

"Yeah?" Merlin was quietly hopeful.

"Of course," Gwen answered, but then there was a brief shuffle on the other end, and Merlin had to hold the phone away from his ear as Gwen gave a completely uncharacteristic shout. "I swear to god, Lance, if you leave the toilet seat up _one more time_ I will personally organize a hunting trip to the Serengeti!"

Merlin stared at the phone in his hand with dumbfounded shock before mumbling, "Er, Gwen, if now's a bad time, I can—"

Gwen gave a rather frustrated sigh and barreled right over Merlin's protests. "Look, Merlin, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that when you're fighting with the person you love, those are the times you need to fight the hardest _for_ that person. You can win him back. You just need to try."

Merlin thought about that for a moment. He hated how small his voice sounded as he asked, "What if he doesn't want to be won?"

Gwen didn't say anything, and Merlin thought it was because she was too nice to say, "Then there's really nothing you can do."

_   
**Two Weeks Notice (5/5)**   
_

* * *

Arthur spent Merlin's last day at Morgana's flat. It wasn't so much hiding as it was strategically avoiding things he very much didn't want to deal with at the moment, like seeing Merlin's face. Of course, there was also the fact that Morgana would eventually come home, and Arthur didn't want to deal with her rather vocal disapproval, and it wasn't like he could stay away from his own flat forever.

When Arthur walked into his flat, he already knew that Merlin was gone. The flat was quiet in a way it never was, even when Merlin was sleeping, as if his mere presence vibrated the air in a different way that Arthur could sense. Before Arthur could think better of it, he found himself poised at the open doorway of Merlin's bedroom. Merlin had never had many belongings, but the room seemed emptier without everything haphazardly scattered about, Merlin's presence inflicting itself on Arthur's life with a casual type of conquest, as if he belonged from day one. But now, the walls were bare, the closet was empty, and the bed was even made. Arthur scowled at the neatly tucked corners. He hoped Merlin had at least had the decency to change the sheets after he and Will—

Arthur slammed the door shut and stomped up the stairs to the roof, suddenly feeling like his own flat was suffocating him. The rooftop provided no relief, however, considering the first thing that greeted Arthur once he threw the door open was Merlin's bloody stupid garden. Arthur closed his eyes against the sight and his mind was immediately assaulted with images from the night before. Merlin's lips pressed against Will's, Will's hands curled around Merlin's hips, Merlin's mouth pink and shiny with Will's saliva. Arthur took an involuntary step back and felt something crunch under his heel. He looked down to see shards of green glass littering the roof and a red stain soaked into the concrete. Arthur toed a green sliver of glass, then viciously ground it to powder under his sole, his teeth grinding in his skull to match. In a blind rage, Arthur stomped to the enclosure and ripped down an entire wall of netting.

The butterflies, idiotic as their keeper, didn't realize they were suddenly free. A few fluttered past him in an awkward, lurching arch, but most seemed perfectly content to rest lazily against the brilliant golden petals. Arthur momentarily considered the logistics of _herding butterflies_ before his gaze caught an odd green shape hanging from one of the leaves. Upon closer inspection, Arthur realized it was a cocoon from some late blooming caterpillar who clearly didn't have the sense to realize that by the time it emerged the temperature would be steadily dropping as the leaves changed from green to red and gold. It would be too late.

Awareness, when it finally hit, plowed into Arthur with the force of a steamroller. Merlin's voice rang through Arthur's head as if being shouted through a megaphone. _I can't believe you're not even going to try to be the person you could be. It's not impossible for someone to change. Even someone as pig-headed as you._

Merlin may be an idiot most of the time, but there was always the rare occasion that he surprised Arthur with his insight. On those rare occasions, Arthur tended to listen.

He didn't even know if he wanted Merlin back, or if he'd ever had Merlin to begin with. What he did know, however, was that he'd gone back on his word and hurt Merlin deeply. He also knew that he was not the type of person who would betray a friend. He liked to think he was better than that. Perhaps it was time that he started to act like it.

With one last look at the cocoon, Arthur very gingerly lifted the pot and carried it inside to the warmth of his flat, setting it on his desk like some bizarre token of inspiration.

Then Arthur sat down to write the most difficult speech of his career.

* * *

Merlin had his feet propped up on the cracked plastic of the break room table, his electric blue apron in his lap and a soy milk latte slowly cooling at his side. _Hollyoaks_ reruns were quietly playing on the ancient telly in the corner, but Merlin was only half paying attention. He'd stopped following the show once John Paul and Craig rode off into the sunset together. Lucky bastards.

Gwen burst into the break room and made straight for the telly. "Oi! I was watching that!" Merlin protested.

"No you weren't, you were sulking," Gwen informed him sternly before stopping on the channel she wanted.

Merlin glanced at the screen to see _Arthur bloody Pendragon_ staring back at him from the televised groundbreaking, looking golden and beautiful in the sun, and Merlin promptly said, "Oh, no way." He half rose from his seat and practically shouted, "_Hell_ no, Gwen."

Scarily strong hands gripped him from behind and pushed him back down into his seat. Lancelot's voice was grave as he said, "It's for your own good, Merlin. The sooner you conquer your fears, the sooner you can get back to the noble fight."

Merlin sighed. He knew Lance was hoping Merlin would put his name back on the regular volunteer rotation at UniKORN, but the truth was Merlin wasn't even sure if he wanted to go back. The whole thing just seemed so pointless now.

Gwen twisted the volume knob, and Arthur's voice rang out clear and strong through the break room. "—thank everyone for being here today. This development will create new jobs as well as a unique source of entertainment and commerce for families in the area. It is a step towards progress for the community, and a promise on behalf of the Pendragon Corporation to always value the people of London."

Merlin let out a short angry groan and began to stand up, but Gwen put a surprisingly strong hand on his shoulder, rooting him in place with a glare worthy of Morgana at her most terrifying. Merlin reluctantly turned his attention back to the telly and sullenly watched Arthur flip through the note cards in his hands.

"But to truly prove to someone that you care about them, you must also be honest with them. I learned that lesson the hard way. There is…was someone in my life that I was not honest with, and I hurt him very deeply." Merlin stifled his gasp of surprise. "I gave my word to him that I would do everything in my power to save a portion of this land as a nature reserve, to safeguard the rare species of butterfly found only in this one unique piece of land. He put his trust in me, and I betrayed that trust. And for that I'm sorry."

Merlin tried very hard to ignore the sudden pounding of his heart, hammering against his ribs as if trying to leap from his chest.

"But there is one thing I won't betray, and that is my duty to the company, and to the people of London." For a moment, Merlin felt the swell of bitter anger rising like a lump in his throat, but Arthur's next words made Merlin swallow it back down again. "It is the duty of the Pendragon Corporation to look not just to the present, but also to the future. This small slice of land should remain undeveloped, preserved for future generations of Britons." Merlin shuffled closer to the Arthur on the screen, as if the image were really Arthur and Merlin could see if he was telling the truth just by meeting his eyes. As Arthur continued, his voice softened slightly, and it was difficult to tell on the crummy TV, but Merlin thought he saw the corner of Arthur's mouth quirk up wryly. "If there is one thing this man has taught me, it is that two very different things, as different as concrete and nature, do not have to be in constant opposition. They can come together; complement each other in a way that creates something surprisingly harmonious. The Pendragon Corporation would be honored to be a part of that.

"But more than duty, more than honor, it is the way we treat those we care about the most that defines us. I am ashamed to say that I have treated this person very poorly. He believed in me, and I let him down." Arthur's head dipped slightly in a gesture Merlin knew to be disappointment, the same as he knew the gesture was always accompanied by the slight tightening of the lines around Arthur's eyes. "You see, this man, despite being stubborn, and unwilling to compromise, and having terrible fashion sense," Merlin snorted, but didn't look away, "He's…he's very like the butterflies he hopes to save…A little awkward and unconventional, often overlooked, but when you look closely, rather…rather unexpectedly beautiful. And one of a kind."

Merlin didn't realize how closely he'd scooted towards the TV until he fell out of his chair and his bum hit the hard tiled floor. It didn't even faze Merlin's avid concentration on the screen.

Arthur had stopped using the note cards, and he wasn't even looking into the camera anymore. He was staring off somewhere into the middle distance, his voice taking on the slightly bewildered, fond quality it always had when Merlin did something unexpectedly useful. "And even though I've said cruel things and driven him away…he's become the other side to my coin. He balances me out. He makes me whole."

Merlin suddenly wondered if there was some sort of air quality advisory he'd missed, because he was finding it incredibly difficult to breathe.

Arthur cleared his throat and seemed to come back to himself a bit. "And so, we will be keeping a portion of this land undeveloped, because the Pendragon Corporation values the people of London, and because… because I value him. Above all else."

Arthur nodded and walked off the screen amid a frenzy of noisy questions and flashing camera bulbs. Reporters onscreen immediately started rhapsodizing and predicting the effect on the market. Merlin stared at the screen, transfixed, but not seeing any of it. Gwen crouched at Merlin's side and wrapped her hand lightly around his elbow. When Merlin turned to look at her, he had a feeling the watery shine to her eyes was reflected in his own.

Merlin's voice was raspy and broken, barely functional as he choked out a nonsensical, "Gwen…I…"

Lancelot's keys landed in Merlin's lap. "You should take my car," Lancelot said. "It's a Prius."

* * *

Merlin drove like a bat out of hell.

He wove in and out of lanes and ran traffic signals with a degree of frequency that had him surprised he even made it to the Camelot hotel in one piece, let alone without getting pulled over for reckless driving. When the lift door didn't immediately pop open the moment Merlin pushed the call button, he had to physically restrain himself from simply running up thirty flights of stairs. He thanked a mixture of sentimentality and absent-mindedness that he'd neglected to remove the key to Arthur's flat from his key ring, and a moment after he fumbled it into the lock he was racing up the spiral staircase, somehow knowing with a certainty that was a little frightening that Arthur would be on the roof.

Merlin didn't waste time to catch his breath before he threw open the door to the rooftop, sucking in great lungfuls of crisp near-autumn air as he took in the sight before him. Arthur was seated under the canopy of netting, one wall duct-taped in place. Arthur's laptop was resting on his knees and he was staring at Merlin from behind the wire-rimmed glasses he pretended not to need unless he felt like playing at being terribly serious and mature. Merlin mindlessly opened his mouth without a clue what to say and was mildly appalled when the first thing that came out was, "I didn't sleep with Will."

_Oh, way to bollocks that right up,_ his mind supplied helpfully. Arthur's raised eyebrow seemed to agree.

"Er…I mean, I saw your speech," Merlin added inanely. He was beginning to wonder if it was even possible to salvage this conversation into the mutual unrepression of emotions he'd envisioned whilst weaving death-defyingly through traffic. When Arthur's only response was to blink stoically from behind the ridiculously aesthetic frames, Merlin decided the only thing to do would be to lay it all bare. After all, it was sort of his turn.

Steeling himself, Merlin took a step forward and said, "Arthur…You're the reason I get up in the morning." Arthur's eyes widened, and Merlin took a shaky breath before he continued, "And it's not because I need to lay out your clothes and cook you breakfast and drag you out of bed…although, right, that's part of it, but…It's…It's not about the job, Arthur. Not entirely, anyway. I mean, there's the running and the fetching and the washing and all that, but there's more to it than that. You're a great man, Arthur. When you're not being a great prat. And I don't…I don't want another job. I'm happy to serve you, until the day I die. Or, well, I guess I would prefer it to be more like the day I receive a fairly generous retirement pension, but, um, you get my meaning."

Taking another step forward, Merlin felt his hands shaking but his voice was clear as he said, "And even if I really hate this job sometimes and I still think you're a giant prat, I wouldn't…I don't want anyone but you."

Arthur took off his glasses and set them aside, presumably to better stare at Merlin. For once, Merlin had absolutely no clue what Arthur was thinking. His stoic stare could have meant he was simply as floored by Merlin's admission as Merlin himself felt, or it could just as easily mean that Arthur thought Merlin had gone off the deep end. Finally, when Merlin could no longer stand the suspense, he said, "Arthur, would you please say something?"

After another interminable moment, Arthur looked away from Merlin's eyes and said, "I have to get back to work."

Merlin blinked. "Oh."

Arthur, still not looking at Merlin, said, "I have to present the new proposal to my father tomorrow morning, so…" A muscle in Arthur's jaw twitched, but other than that his face was devoid of emotion.

"Right. Of course. I'll just…" Merlin made some obscure gesture over his shoulder towards the door. When Arthur gave no indication that he cared one way or the other and continued to stare anywhere but at Merlin, still with that same inscrutable expression, Merlin just gave a half-hearted nod and turned to leave. Each step away hollowed out an aching chasm in Merlin's chest. How could he have been so wrong? He'd been so sure that he could patch things up with Arthur, that they both wanted the same thing. He knew that Arthur's speech had to mean something. Merlin's confession may not have been quite as eloquent, but was it really bad enough for Arthur to give up a second chance? Sure, they would probably always fight like cats and dogs, but their good times would be just as fierce. They would be the stuff of legend. How could Arthur be willing to throw all that away? As Merlin slowly made his way to the door, he distantly wondered how he ever hoped to put his heart back together when it had been shattered so completely.

Merlin's hand was on the door when he was grabbed and spun around by the shoulder and another hand was buried in the hair at the base of his skull and Arthur was kissing him like both their lives depended on it. It only took a split second for Merlin to wrap his arms around Arthur's neck and kiss him back with everything he had.

In that moment, everything seemed to slide perfectly into place, as if the only thing Merlin had ever needed for the world to make sense was Arthur's lips on his. The kiss was hot and slick and a bit sloppy, more desperation than finesse, but Merlin didn't care, couldn't even think past the litany of _yes, yes, yes_ and _finally_. Merlin clung to Arthur's shoulders as Arthur pressed him back against the door, practically devouring each other's mouths. It was everything Merlin wanted, but he was still frantic for more. Then Arthur wedged a thigh between Merlin's knees and pressed so close it would take a crowbar to pry them apart, and Merlin guessed it would only take another two minutes of this before he came in his trousers in the middle of the bloody rooftop. Summoning his few remaining wits that weren't keeled over in ecstasy from the way Arthur was biting and sucking on Merlin's bottom lip, Merlin mumbled breathily between messy kisses, "Arthur. Bed."

Arthur made a noise that could have been approval or could have been some nonsensical cross between a grunt and a sigh. Then he crashed their hips together in a way that pressed their cocks together almost violently through their clothes, and Merlin decided two minutes was now more like two _seconds._ He shoved at Arthur's shoulders until Arthur released him with a frustrated groan, putting enough space between them for Merlin to suck in a shuddering breath. Arthur's look was beyond predatory, his mouth swollen and wet and his dark eyes fixed on Merlin's lips in a way that made it clear it was taking all his will power not to just dive right back in, and it took Merlin a good long second to remember why he couldn't let Arthur do that, at least not yet.

Fixing his gaze on Arthur, Merlin repeated in a voice he barely recognized as his own, "Arthur. _Bed._"

Arthur's expression shifted into a grin that was positively manic, then he hefted Merlin aside by his hips and unnecessarily kicked in the door to his own flat.

* * *

Arthur practically carried Merlin down the spiral staircase, pushing and pulling and manhandling him like the eight stone weakling that he was. Their hands tugged frantically at clothing, hungry for skin but not willing to stop kissing or allow even an inch of space between them as they tried to touch each other everywhere at once. Just negotiating Merlin out of his t-shirt involved a tangle of jammed elbows and crushed toes, and Merlin only managed to get the top three buttons of Arthur's shirt undone due to blind luck and a few furious yanks that made Arthur wince in sympathy for the fabric. Arthur was amazed they didn't manage to accidentally kill each other before they made it to solid ground.

They were waylaid momentarily when Merlin stumbled into a priceless Tiffany floor lamp and sent their bodies lurching into the back of the couch, hips colliding on impact and _god,_ Arthur didn't even _care_ that the lamp shattered into a thousand pieces because Merlin just grunted and pressed his thigh harder against Arthur's cock. Arthur groaned and latched onto Merlin's ass, grinding their hips together. Merlin shuddered and ripped his mouth away from Arthur's, gasping hot against Arthur's neck. And because Arthur was maybe a bit of a prat and couldn't resist, he grinned against the shell of Merlin's ear and said, "That's coming out of your pay, you know." Merlin's indignant squawk could have been a protest or it could have been because Arthur chose that moment to bite down on Merlin's earlobe.

Arthur slid his hands up the hot, bare skin of Merlin's chest and took Merlin's face between his hands, pulling him into another searing kiss and opening wide around Merlin's tongue. Merlin gave up on the buttons of Arthur's shirt and his hands dropped to fumble at Arthur's belt. Digging his fingers into Merlin's hair, Arthur shoved them both off the couch and started dragging Merlin back towards the bedroom. Despite Arthur's impatient prodding and maneuvering and _tugging_, they tripped over each other's feet twice before Merlin pulled back just enough to say breathlessly against Arthur's lips, "Dammit, Arthur, my ears are not _handles._"

The backs of Arthur's knees collided with the edge of his bed as he moved his assault to the soft skin below Merlin's jaw and said, "It's not my fault you're incapable of walking and undressing at the same time. Really, Merlin, I thought you said you were _good_ at this."

Merlin glared, and the next thing Arthur knew his trousers were undone and he was flat on his back in the middle of his bed. Merlin descended on top of him with hands shoved up under Arthur's mangled shirt and Merlin's mouth hot on his neck and fine, yes, that was actually quite impressive. Merlin practically growled as he said, "Maybe if you'd stop being so damn _pushy_ all the time—"

Arthur slid his hands down the back of Merlin's trousers and pressed his hips up, dragging their clothed cocks together and making Merlin cut himself off with a gratifying hiss. "Someone has to lead, considering you're clearly rubbish at it. You couldn't even manage my shirt buttons."

With a furious heave and what could only be described as an animalistic grunt, Merlin ripped the last two buttons from Arthur's shirt. "What is it with you and destroying my shirts?" Arthur said shakily, more than a little breathless because wow, _hot_, and then he let out a rather unmanly yelp as Merlin latched his mouth over one of Arthur's nipples and did something lewd and indecent and _incredible_ with his tongue. Arthur clung to the back of Merlin's neck and arched desperately and whispered, "Oh, _fuck_," because it felt like every single nerve ending in Arthur's body was suddenly connected to the tip of Merlin's tongue. "I see what you mean…about the tongue thing," Arthur gasped out helplessly.

Arthur could actually feel the smugness of Merlin's smile pressed up against his skin. "You haven't seen anything yet," he gloated, and then he began pressing a line of hot kisses down the length of Arthur's body. Before he even reached the waistline of Arthur's trousers he was already shoving them down past Arthur's knees, boxers and all, before apparently abandoning the endeavor in favor of palming Arthur's cock and sucking the head into his mouth. Fireballs exploded behind Arthur's eyelids. Merlin's tongue deftly swirled around the head and teased at the slit, and Arthur may have made a noise in a register only audible to dolphins and household pets. Then Merlin pulled off Arthur's cock and just _grinned_, because he was a sadistic cockteasing bastard with a _death wish._ He let his bottom lip glide over the tip of Arthur's cock, pink and shiny and slick, then said almost conversationally, "Do you think this is a good time to negotiate a pay raise?"

Arthur fisted his hands in the sheets to keep himself from throttling Merlin, if only because it would result in the worst case of blue balls in his _life._ "_Merlin,_" he warned through gritted teeth.

Merlin, however, just lapped a stroke up the underside of Arthur's cock and curled his tongue against the bundle of nerves at the base of the head in a way that sent bolts of lightning shooting to the palms of Arthur's hands and the soles of his feet. Arthur bit his lip and tried not to writhe mindlessly as Merlin remarked casually, "Or maybe my own office? That would be nice."

Arthur groaned and said, "I'll make you the bloody VP of cocksucking if you want, _bloody hell,_ just, god, Merlin, _get the fuck on with it._"

Arthur didn't have to see Merlin's smirk, since he could _feel_ it against his shaft. "You really are biologically incapable of asking for anything nicely, aren't you?"

And, because Arthur didn't care one shred about his dignity as long as he just got Merlin's mouth on him sometime in the next ten seconds, he choked out in a voice was perilously close to a needy whimper, "Merlin. _Please._" And then Merlin took him in nearly to the root, and it was so good Arthur's back arched with a wordless cry and his heart shuddered to a stop in his chest and his brain lit up like a fucking _firecracker._

Arthur abruptly came back to reality to find Merlin's hand light on his face and the other tight around the base of his cock, Merlin's voice drowning out the white noise in Arthur's head. "Arthur, not yet. Stay with me. I'll be damned if I've waited all this time for you to go off in the first five minutes."

"Bastard," Arthur said, but it came out as almost a keening sob. Arthur decided that if Merlin wanted to make this a battle of wills like everything _else_ they ever did, then he wasn't above playing dirty. Grabbing Merlin's wrist where it rested against Arthur's cheek, Arthur deftly sucked two of Merlin's fingers into his mouth.

"Fuck," Merlin said with feeling, his eyes gone wide and dark. Arthur's hands were shaking with need as he curled them into Merlin's hair and pulled him into a wet kiss.

"Merlin," Arthur moaned into the kiss, barely drawing back far enough to get the words out. "We have time later, we'll go slow, just…no more waiting." Arthur was sick of waiting. He wanted this so badly, had wanted it for so long without even knowing he wanted it, and that somehow made it worse because it had been building up inside him like an avalanche, silent and overwhelming and burying Arthur until he couldn't even breathe.

Merlin's breath was coming in hard, short pants against Arthur's mouth. "Alright, this one time," he breathed. "But you owe me." Then he moved back to Arthur's cock, and this time there was no more messing around. He set a hard, fast pace, sliding his mouth up and down the shaft and fluttering his tongue in a way that stole the air from Arthur's lungs. He slipped his wet fingers into Arthur's ass to the first knuckle and a ragged thumbnail scratched lightly over soft skin just behind Arthur's balls and Arthur was _gone._ He was ripped apart and put back together in a span of seconds, and apparently his brain was put back together wrong because his limbs refused to move and his eyelids wouldn't open and he couldn't do anything besides just lie there and _breathe._

Merlin assumed, quite rightly, that Arthur was very close to blacking out, and said, "Oh, no you don't. Arthur! Don't you dare pass out on me, you bloody git!" Arthur distantly recognized the sound of Merlin shucking his own trousers, however he wasn't able to do much besides let his knees fall open so Merlin could settle into cradle of his thighs, rutting into the skin still slick with Merlin's spit. Merlin's cock was rock hard as it dragged across Arthur's, still sensitive to the point of pain, but he clutched weakly at Merlin's shoulders. He felt Merlin's hips rolling into his, pressing him into mattress. He managed to shake one leg free of the trousers confining his ankles and curled his leg over Merlin's thigh, bare foot tucked against the back of Merlin's knee. It was all Arthur could do to just lie there and moan weakly as Merlin used his body, taking what he needed, what Arthur was more than willing to give. Merlin kept making needy little noises against the side of Arthur's neck, and Arthur turned to mouth hotly to the pointed curve of Merlin's jaw and Merlin came with a desperate cry. As soon as he'd finished, he grumbled, "I should have known you'd just lie back and make me do all the work, you lazy ponce."

Arthur meant to say, _You didn't give time to recover properly. I'd just had my brains sucked out through my cock, I can't be blamed for my actions._ What he actually said was, "Nnuhunh." He tried again, but this time with better success. "Not my fault you're so bloody impatient. Didn't even get my trousers off."

"Nobody was stopping you from doing it yourself, you know." At Arthur's meaningful eyebrow, Merlin said, "What, so now it's my job to undress you, too?"

Arthur stared up at ceiling and silently considered it. Merlin, unfortunately, cut short that train of thought before it even left the station.

"Forget it. I'm not bloody _undressing_ you, Arthur. At least not until you learn the meaning of 'reciprocity.'"

Arthur absolutely did not pout. "I think I liked you better with my cock in your mouth. You were actually _quiet._"

Arthur had about a half second warning before his smirk got smothered by a pillow.

* * *

If Merlin had any fears of falling victim to pattern and being summarily kicked out of Arthur's bed in the morning, they were quickly dispelled when he woke in the predawn hours to find Arthur clinging to him like a limpet and tracing lazy patterns across his hipbone. Smiling, Merlin kissed the side of Arthur's neck and fluttered drowsy eyes open to find Arthur already awake and watching him. Arthur smiled softly. "Go back to sleep, Merlin," he said, so Merlin did.

Several hours later, Merlin had a much more unpleasant awakening. He was jolted to consciousness by the sound of shattering pottery and Arthur's muffled swearing coming from the next room. Grumbling sleepily, Merlin stood and wrapped himself in the duvet because it was far too early for complex tasks like tracking down his clothes. He lurched groggily down the hall until he got to his once-and-soon-to-be-again bedroom and squinted into the too-bright morning sun. Arthur was dressed only a pair of pajama pants and crouched over something on the floor. "Whadyu doin'?" Merlin mumbled.

Arthur turned, and Merlin could barely make out—was that _dirt_ in Arthur's hands? "Ah, sorry. Did I wake you?"

Merlin groaned as if to say, _Yes you bloody well woke me up at whatever ungodly sodding hour of hell this is, now explain yourself!_ Merlin rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the heel of his hand and refocused on Arthur. This time he was able to make out broken terra cotta shards amidst the small pile of dirt on the ground, and cradled in Arthur's palms was an uprooted Mortius flower. Merlin blinked at it blearily, bemused.

Arthur, however, was a git, so he only said, "Well, now that you're awake you can help clean this up. Fetch a broom and dustpan."

Merlin glared in a way he hoped communicated, _You know fucking well I refuse to do any work until I've had coffee,_ and, _You begged me to let you come last night. You don't get to order me around again ever._ Judging by Arthur's soft expression, however, what Merlin had actually communicated was more along the lines of _disgruntled puppy._

Arthur rolled his eyes and sighed in a way that suggested any further interaction with Merlin would tax his patience to the limit. He grabbed the priceless (and unbelievably ugly) Ming vase from a nearby bookshelf and stuffed the plant into it, then replaced it on the shelf. It was only then that Merlin realized the entire bookshelf was full of the Mortius flowers from the rooftop garden. A quick glance around the room confirmed that _all_ the plants had been moved into the room and were adorning practically every horizontal surface available. "What the…" he muttered eloquently.

Arthur straightened his back and jutted out his chin in that way he always had when he was feeling defensive. "I figured if the garden was going to survive the winter, then it needed to be moved indoors."

Merlin frowned. "And you decided my room was a suitable greenhouse substitute?"

Arthur went back to gathering up the broken pottery shards and setting them on the shelf. "Well, it's not like you'll be using it," he answered blandly.

Merlin suddenly felt as if all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. Merlin wasn't moving back in? "I…I won't?"

Arthur snorted and looked at Merlin as if he was particularly dense. "Of course not. Don't be daft, Merlin."

Merlin slumped against the doorjamb, pulling the duvet tighter around his shoulders. "Oh," he said quietly. He realized it may have been too much to hope for, that he would get his old job back. If nothing else, they'd both proved that working with each other tended to be a rather volatile situation, so maybe Arthur thought living together would be too much, after everything that had happened. He knew they'd both hurt each other, and he hadn't expected things to immediately go back to how they were, but he'd at least hoped…He'd _hoped._ And…And even if Arthur decided that it was too hard, that he just couldn't…_God_, if he _couldn't_…

"_Mer_lin," Arthur said, suddenly right there in front of Merlin and cupping his jaw between his hands and looking at him with such exasperated fondness it was physically painful. "You really are positively _useless_ before your morning coffee, aren't you? You won't be using it because you'll be staying with me. In _our_ room."

"Oh," Merlin said, and then, "_Oh._" He promptly wrapped his arms around Arthur's waist and kissed him with all the elated passion he could feel lighting up in his chest, letting the duvet pool around his feet. And as he fell backwards onto the bed and pulled Arthur down with him, he saw out of the corner of his eye a jar, and an empty chrysalis, and a newborn butterfly spreading its wings.

* * *

**Two Weeks Later**

"_MERLIN!_"

Merlin was in the kitchen making scrambled egg-substitute when Arthur barreled out the bedroom door wearing only black socks, blue boxers, an undershirt and a red tie draped across his shoulders. Combined with the stormy expression on his face, Merlin thought he looked bloody ridiculous.

"_Merlin,_ you _daft clod!_ Care to explain why all of my shirts are suddenly _pink?_" Arthur shouted, brandishing fistfuls of shirts in each hand.

Merlin turned back to the non-eggs to hide his sheepish grin. "I, uh…may have accidentally washed your favorite red shirt with the whites." He snuck a glance at Arthur from under his lashes. He was learning just how quickly that look could get him out of trouble. "It's not like you can't just buy new ones," he suggested helpfully.

Arthur pursed his lips like he was holding back all the shouting he really wanted to do. After a minute, he simply let out in a frustrated huff, "Honestly. _Worst assistant I've ever had._ Why do I even put up with you?"

Merlin smirked. "I can think of a few reasons." He cocked one eyebrow and licked his lips.

Arthur's gaze caught on Merlin's mouth as Merlin ran the tip of his tongue slowly over his bottom lip. Arthur narrowed his eyes and dropped the shirts to the floor. "Right. Just so you know, when my father asks why we're late to work _again_, I'm blaming you."

The next thing Merlin knew, he was being hiked up onto the granite countertop as Arthur devoured his mouth, and all Merlin could think as he stripped Arthur of his shirt was, _Oh. Kitchen. Haven't done this one yet._

* * *

Later that morning—much later, but Merlin couldn't really bring himself to feel guilty about it—Merlin gulped down the last of his coffee and trailed after Arthur as they scurried into the office. (Of course, Arthur wouldn't call it scurrying, because Arthur Pendragon did nothing but _stride purposefully_.) Arthur was so busy spouting off a list of errands for Merlin that neither of them noticed Morgana waiting impatiently outside Arthur's office.

"Where have you been? You've kept Kanen waiting for over an _hour!_"

"Relax, Morgana. I doubt he'll mind, considering he's waiting for us to finalize crushing his pathetic little company into the ground."

"Fine, just hurry up, would you?" As she turned to go back into Arthur's office, she gave him a quick smirk and said, "By the way, pink suits you."

Arthur scowled, then turned to Merlin and said, "And before the end of the day, you'll need to go buy me an entirely new wardrobe to make up for the laundry fiasco."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Right. I'll just pencil that in between our lunch meeting and my battle to the death with the bloody copy machine, shall I?"

The corner of Arthur's mouth quirked up in a reluctant grin before his expression shifted into the slightly mischievous one Merlin had just begun to recognize in the last two weeks. "Speaking of penciling things in, meet me in the eighteenth floor supply closet in an hour."

Merlin's eyebrows lifted and his voice dropped to a low murmur. "I thought you said you wanted me on your desk this afternoon."

Arthur's grin was a little wicked as he leaned in and brushed his lips over Merlin's. "I don't see why we can't do both."

Merlin couldn't help but smile into the kiss, which turned into a ridiculous giggle when Arthur rather unsubtly groped Merlin's ass through his trousers.

Morgana's voice called out from Arthur's office, "You have just lost all future mocking privileges. At least I never put on a show for the staff."

"No, you just watched them put on a show for you," Arthur replied, reluctantly releasing Merlin and heading towards his office. "Which reminds me…Merlin, make sure you disable the supply closet security camera."

Merlin couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw a brief, disappointed pout cross Morgana's face.

Once Arthur and Morgana were headed to the meeting, Merlin watched them go and then headed to the office right next to Arthur's, unable to wipe away the goofy grin he'd had plastered on his face for the last two weeks. It only broadened in surprise when Merlin caught sight of the small framed picture setting on his new desk, surrounded and half hidden by the unicorn figurines he'd never quite been able to throw away. He picked it up, feeling his heart melt into a stupidly mushy, warm puddle in his chest.

It was a picture of a rose in full bloom inside a simple black frame, and underneath the rose the caption read, _Destiny: You were meant for me. Perhaps as punishment._

Merlin smiled, then set about settling into his first day as the Pendragon Corporation's Vice President of Environmental Relations.

Oddly enough, Merlin's new job still involved a great deal of washing Arthur's socks.

  
_fin_


	6. Two Weeks Notice: Soundtrack

  
  
  
  
  


**Entry tags:**

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[fandom: merlin](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fandom%3A%20merlin), [soundtrack: two weeks notice](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/soundtrack%3A%20two%20weeks%20notice)  
  
  
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_   
**Two Weeks Notice: Soundtrack**   
_

  


86 MB rar file containing some wma and some mp3, 22 songs total  
Download links:  
[MegaUpload](http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3T2VICL0) | [FileFront](http://files.filefront.com/TWN+sndtkrar/;13467025;/fileinfo.html) | [SendSpace](http://www.sendspace.com/file/mlbsq0)

  
I don't think I've ever made a soundtrack that I love as much as this one. It's actually my favorite part of this fic! *g* I was amazed I was able to find so many songs that fit the mood of the fic so well and seemed to have lyrics perfectly matched to the plot and the characters. I eventually had to pare it down to the 22 songs that I could more-or-less tie directly to scenes from the movie, so what I ended up with was a soundtrack that essentially tells the story for me in song form. I've listed below the songs and which scene, to me, they tie most closely to, but obviously this is open to personal interpretation. XD

**WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS FOR THE FIC.**

  
Affirmation (Savage Garden)  
**I believe in Karma, what you give is what you get returned. I believe you can't appreciate real love 'till you've been burned.**  
_The moment I heard this, I knew it was Merlin's theme song. In my mind, this is played over the opening credit rapid-fire montage of Merlin getting ready and going to work and making coffee and manning picket lines and generally acting like his adorkable self._

All You Need Is Love (Lynden David Hall)  
**No one you can save that can't be saved. Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time.**  
_If 'Affirmation' was Merlin's theme song, then this is Arthur's. He thinks he's got it all: good looks, money, power, but there's one thing he's missing, and that's the love of an adorkable activist to help him find his destiny and become the man he was always meant to be. And destiny is about to be foisted upon him whether he likes it or not._

Womanizer (Britney Spears)  
**You got the swagger of champion. Too bad for you, just can't find the right companion. I guess when you have one too many, makes it hard.**  
_My shallow tribute to the revolving door on Arthur's bedroom._

Life Less Ordinary (Carbon Leaf)  
**That night you came into my life, well it took the bones of me. You blew away my storm and strife, and you shook the bones of me.**  
_When these boys first meet, they don't quite know what's in store for them. All they know is that this other person shakes up their world in a way that promises things will never be the same again. The fact that the gist of the lyrics seems to foreshadow the pain and happiness they'll be facing down the road as well as how their world will end up revolving around each other is just a bonus._

True To Your Heart (Raven)  
**Baby I knew at once that you were meant for me, deep in my soul I know that I'm your destiny.**  
_Merlin's constant struggle to get Arthur to see that he can be a great man who does great things, if he'll just try and trust that Merlin will be there to help him, always. _

First Kiss (International Five)  
**Our first kiss won't be the last, our love's too deep to end that fast, and good things come to those who have to wait.**  
_Arthur thinks their first kiss on the rooftop should also be their last and seeks to put an end to their friendship, but instead it makes him start to realize his own feelings for Merlin._

Walk Away (Kelly Clarkson)  
**You need to know this situation's getting old, and now the more you talk the less I can take.**  
_Merlin is getting really damn sick of Arthur's extra-prattish behavior._

You're So Vain (Suzanne Isaac)  
**You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you, don't you? **  
_Arthur doesn't realize how badly his behavior is hurting Merlin, and how close he is to losing him for good._

Goodbye to You (Michelle Branch)  
**Of all the things I've believed in, I just want to get it over with.**  
_Merlin finally decides he's had enough. He doesn't want to quit, he still loves Arthur and still believes in him, but he's sick of trying._

When You're Gone (Avril Lavigne)  
**When you're gone, the pieces of my heart are missing you.**  
_Arthur finally realizes that he's about to lose the best thing that's ever happened to him._

You &amp; Me Song (The Wannadies)  
**Always when we fight I kiss you once or twice and everything's forgotten. I know you hate that.**  
_Arthur and Merlin make up, and it seems that there's hope on the horizon._

Big Yellow Taxi (Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton)  
**Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got 'till it's gone?**  
_Just when Arthur was beginning to hope that he and Merlin will weather this storm, Uther swoops in and takes that hope away._

The Nearness of You (Norah Jones)  
**If you'll only grant me the right to hold you ever so tight, and to feel in the night the nearness of you.**  
_This is the song that was playing during the benefit scene in the movie, when their eyes lock across the crowd, so I like to imagine the same song playing when Arthur first sees Merlin at the medieval charity ball._

Somebody More Like You (Nickel Creek)  
**I didn't hear you say you're sorry. The fault must be mine.**  
_When Merlin finds out about Arthur backing out of the land donation, he feels betrayed and resentful. Arthur feels much the same when he sees Merlin on the roof with Will._

I'm Still Breathing (Katy Perry)  
**Let's close this chapter, say one last prayer, but don't say that you loved me.**  
_The boys miss each other terribly, but they are both still hurt and angry, and neither holds out much hope for a reconciliation._

I Hate Myself for Losing You (Kelly Clarkson)  
**What do you do when you look in the mirror, and staring at you is why he's not here?**  
_They both feel guilty, knowing they've screwed up and hurt each other and driven each other away._

What I Want (Daughtry)  
**As days go by, I've finally become what you want me to be. **  
_Remembering Merlin's parting words, Arthur finally decides to be the person Merlin always seemed to believe he could be._

Everlasting Friend (Blue October)  
**I might crumble, I might take a fall again. I just want to know that you'll be coming home.**  
_Arthur apologizes, hoping to mend things with Merlin. Things still aren't perfect, but he's willing to make the effort if Merlin is, too._

Dizzy (Jimmy Eat World)  
**If there's half a chance in this moment, when your eyes meet mine, we show it.**  
_Merlin races to Arthur's side, ready to try again. Arthur doesn't exactly welcome him with open arms, at first, and Merlin begins to lose hope._

Rooftops and Invitations (Dashboard Confessional)  
**Under the cool sheet, where the welcome touch of skin and skin will meet.**  
_Arthur kisses Merlin on the rooftop and they make love for the first time._

The Way I Am (Ingrid Michaelson)  
**Cuz I love the way you say good morning, and you take me the way I am.**  
_The boys are totally in love and totally devoted to each other, flaws and all._

Walking on Sunshine (Jump5)  
**I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby I'm sure.**  
_A nice summary song of where they've been and how they live happily ever after. Roll credits. ♥_  


[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/affirmation-lyrics-savage-garden.html)

[lyrics](http://www.lyricsbox.com/various-artists-lyrics-lynden-david-hall-all-you-need-is-love-mkn8pn3.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/womanizer-lyrics-britney-spears.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/life-less-ordinary-lyrics-carbon-leaf.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/true-to-your-heart-lyrics-raven.html)

[lyrics](http://www.soundtrackslyrics.com/abc/Center-Stage.html#02)

[lyrics](http://www.elyrics.net/read/k/kelly-clarkson-lyrics/walk-away-lyrics.html)

[lyrics](http://www.elyrics.net/read/c/carly-simon-lyrics/you_re-so-vain-lyrics.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/goodbye-to-you-lyrics-michelle-branch.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/when-youre-gone-lyrics-avril-lavigne.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/you-and-me-song-lyrics-the-wannadies.html)

[lyrics](http://www.elyrics.net/read/c/counting-crows-lyrics/big-yellow-taxi-lyrics.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-nearness-of-you-lyrics-norah-jones.html)

[lyrics](http://lyricwiki.org/Nickel_Creek:Somebody_More_Like_You)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/im-still-breathing-lyrics-katy-perry.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-hate-myself-for-losing-you-lyrics-kelly-clarkson.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/what-i-want-lyrics-chris-daughtry.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/everlasting-friend-lyrics-blue-october.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/dizzy-lyrics-jimmy-eat-world.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/rooftops-and-invitations-lyrics-dashboard-confessional.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-way-i-am-lyrics-ingrid-michaelson.html)

[lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/walking-on-sunshine-lyrics-jump5.html)

  


  
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	7. Two Weeks Notice: Artwork

  
  
  
  
  


**Entry tags:**

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[artwork: two weeks notice](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/artwork%3A%20two%20weeks%20notice), [fandom: merlin](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fandom%3A%20merlin)  
  
  
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The fantabulous coverart, made by [](http://sandrainthesun.livejournal.com/profile)[**sandrainthesun**](http://sandrainthesun.livejournal.com/)! \o/ ♥

  
Before she made this for me, however, I played around with photoshop a little on my own as a source of inspiration, and I came up with this:

Arthur and Merlin in their office attire:  


Coverart modeled after the movie poster:  


  
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**Two Weeks Notice: Artwork**   
_


	8. Two Weeks Notice: Author's Notes

  
  
  
  
  


**Entry tags:**

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[fic: two weeks notice](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/tag/fic%3A%20two%20weeks%20notice)  
  
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A/N and all-purpose disclaimer: Written for [](http://community.livejournal.com/reel_merlin/profile)[**reel_merlin**](http://community.livejournal.com/reel_merlin/), for the movie prompt of the same name. If you've seen the movie, you'll recognize the bits I took from it. I also lifted a few select lines from the show. Also, I blatantly stole a bunch of other stuff, which I will list below:

-All but one of the Demotivational posters that Arthur and Merlin use to flirt harass each other are from despair.com, because they're hilarious. (The one containing the line "Vanish from my sight, peon" is from [](http://rageprufrock.livejournal.com/profile)[**rageprufrock**](http://rageprufrock.livejournal.com/)'s [Three Castles](http://community.livejournal.com/merlinxarthur/137365.html), and had to be used because it is one of my _favorite fanfic lines in the history of ever._)

-The vegetarian joke mug is copyrighted as well, but I have no idea where I got it from.

-[Silver spotted skippers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesperia_comma) are a real endangered butterfly in Britain, and I thought the name was hilarious so I used them. Sadly, they do not actually feed on the Mortius flower.

-The butterflies became an unexpected symbol/metaphor/allegory for Merlin and Arthur and how their relationship changes them both. I really can't quite figure out how that ended up happening, because I just look at this and think 'Ahahaha! I can't believe I actually tried to insert something _deep_ and &lt;/i&gt;symbolic&lt;/i&gt; into this mindless drivel!'

-The [12-foot penis flower](http://www.cracked.com/article_16054_p2.html) is a real endangered plant. As soon as I read about it, I knew I had to mention it in this fic.

-There is a very tiny allusion to [](http://syllic.livejournal.com/profile)[**syllic**](http://syllic.livejournal.com/)'s WIP [Easy There](http://syllic.livejournal.com/8388.html). See if you can spot it.

-Also, I'm afraid I have Merlin channeling Ianto for the coffee thing (though, honestly, that could also just be me projecting my coffee!love onto Merlin). I don't know how that happened. I don't read Torchwood fic.

*ducks rotten fruit and potatoes*

-I have no idea where the ridiculous, Tardis-like-coffee-machine-of-teh-sex came from. I apologize for its silliness.

-There are multiple references to Doctor Who, some more explicit than others. The first person to spot them all wins a cookie. *g*

-[](http://merelyn.livejournal.com/profile)[**merelyn**](http://merelyn.livejournal.com/) and [](http://krazykipper.livejournal.com/profile)[**krazykipper**](http://krazykipper.livejournal.com/), though I did not sign up for Bring It On, I did manage to work that particular catchphrase into the story. Thank you so much for hosting this spectacular challenge, and for extending the deadline so that those of us who were frantically trying to finish despite the ignominious deaths of our laptops did not die of deadline-induced strokes and/or heart attacks. (Oh, that was just me? Well, thanks anyway, then.)

-Super thanks to [](http://sandrainthesun.livejournal.com/profile)[**sandrainthesun**](http://sandrainthesun.livejournal.com/) for the absolutely gorgeous coverart. You are amazing darling! \o/

-ETA: I completely forgot to mention that the idea of Arthur in glasses was 100% inspired by [this completely amazing piece of fanart](http://community.livejournal.com/suchoddity/18520.html#cutid1) by [](http://trolleys.livejournal.com/profile)[**trolleys**](http://trolleys.livejournal.com/)!!!

-Huge thanks to the people who helped me cobble together songs for my soundtrack, after my computer's death meant I lost the original. [](http://emptybackpack.livejournal.com/profile)[**emptybackpack**](http://emptybackpack.livejournal.com/), [](http://kelene.livejournal.com/profile)[**kelene**](http://kelene.livejournal.com/), [](http://downloadable08.livejournal.com/profile)[**downloadable08**](http://downloadable08.livejournal.com/), and everyone else who offered. You are all spectacular.

-Major thanks to my entire flist for putting up with my constant whining and also supplying me with ideas and endless encouragement during the many, many times that I got stuck while writing this. In particular I'd like to thank the people whose contributions I shamelessly stole for this fic: [](http://lavvyan.livejournal.com/profile)[**lavvyan**](http://lavvyan.livejournal.com/), [](http://merelyn.livejournal.com/profile)[**merelyn**](http://merelyn.livejournal.com/), [](http://beadattitude.livejournal.com/profile)[**beadattitude**](http://beadattitude.livejournal.com/), [](http://ms-king.livejournal.com/profile)[**bakarini**](http://ms-king.livejournal.com/), [](http://kelene.livejournal.com/profile)[**kelene**](http://kelene.livejournal.com/), [](http://el-gilliath.livejournal.com/profile)[**el_gilliath**](http://el-gilliath.livejournal.com/), and everyone else who contributed whose ideas I never got around to using. You are all wonderful, wonderful people, and if I used one of your ideas and forgot to include you, I'm sorry. Please let me know and I'll add you to the notes!

I have no idea how this got so long. 37,616 words? SERIOUSLY, WTF? I honestly don't think there's enough plot in this to justify that kind of word count. Hopefully its length does not drag all my readers into near-comatose states of boredom, because that would REALLY, REALLY SUCK.

Also, as long as you're reading this, you should all check out the [soundtrack](http://ras-fic.livejournal.com/20384.html#cutid1), which in my opinion is better than the fic. IDEK how that happened, but I blame it partly on the fact that my version of Arthur sucks at emoting and can only get in touch with his feelings by using Morgana as his emotional proxy, and partly on the fact that 78% of this fic is shameless self-indulgence.

And last but _certainly_ not least, much love for my _fantastic_ betas, [](http://siobhan-w.livejournal.com/profile)[**siobhan_w**](http://siobhan-w.livejournal.com/) and [](http://feathergirl89.livejournal.com/profile)[**feathergirl89**](http://feathergirl89.livejournal.com/), who bravely took on the task of beating this monster into submission and putting up with my panicked deadline-induced ravings, who very politely pointed out when I was making up words and when I complete failed to sound British, who were infinitely understanding when I was having laptop ISSUES and also when I lost my entire fic because my dog ATE MY USB DRIVE and they had to send me the sections they had saved to their files so I could cobble it back together. Seriously, this fic would not be half as good as it is without your invaluable input. You both deserve SAINTHOOD. I have no idea how I would have done this without you.

♥

  


  
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**Two Weeks Notice: Author's Notes**   
_

And I don't even like Ianto all that much.


End file.
